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pollute

 - 4 dictionary results

pol⋅lute

  [puh-loot]
Use pollute in a Sentence
–verb (used with object), -lut⋅ed, -lut⋅ing.
1. to make foul or unclean, esp. with harmful chemical or waste products; dirty: to pollute the air with smoke.
2. to make morally unclean; defile.
3. to render ceremonially impure; desecrate: to pollute a house of worship.
4. Informal. to render less effective or efficient: The use of inferior equipment has polluted the company's service.
Origin:
1325–75; ME polute < L pollūtus ptp. of polluere to soil, defile, equiv. to pol-, assimilated var. of por- (see pollicitation; here marking the action as complete) + -lū- base of -luere (akin to lutum mud, dirt, lustrum muddy place) + -tus ptp. suffix

Related forms:
pol⋅lut⋅er, noun
pol⋅lu⋅tive, adjective

Synonyms:
1. soil, befoul. 2. taint, contaminate, vitiate, corrupt, debase, deprave.

Antonyms:
1, 2. purify.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To pollute
pol·lute   (pə-lōōt')   
tr.v.   pol·lut·ed, pol·lut·ing, pol·lutes

  1. To make unfit for or harmful to living things, especially by the addition of waste matter. See Synonyms at contaminate.

  2. To make less suitable for an activity, especially by the introduction of unwanted factors: The stadium lights polluted the sky around the observatory.

  3. To render impure or morally harmful; corrupt.

  4. To make ceremonially impure; profane: "Churches and altars were polluted by atrocious murders" (Edward Gibbon).


[Middle English polluten, from Latin polluere, pollūt-.]
pol·lut'er n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: pol·lute
Pronunciation: p&-'lüt
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Forms: pol·lut·ed;pol·lut·ing
1 : to make physically impure or unclean
2 : to contaminate (an environment) especially with man-made waste —pol·lut·er noun —pol·lut·ive /-'lüt-iv/ adjective
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

pollute pol·lute (pə-l&oomacr;t')
v. pol·lut·ed, pol·lut·ing, pol·lutes

  1. To make unfit for or harmful to living things, especially by the addition of waste matter; contaminate.

  2. To make less suitable for an activity, especially by the introduction of unwanted factors.

pol·lut'er n.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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