contaminate
[ verb kuhn-tam-uh-neyt; noun, adjective kuhn-tam-uh-nit, -neyt ]
verb (used with object),con·tam·i·nat·ed, con·tam·i·nat·ing.
to make impure or unsuitable by contact or mixture with something unclean, bad, etc.: to contaminate a lake with sewage.
to render harmful or unusable by adding radioactive material to: to contaminate a laboratory.
noun
something that contaminates or carries contamination; contaminant.
adjective
Obsolete. contaminated.
Origin of contaminate
11375–1425; late Middle English contaminaten<Latin contāminātus, past participle of contāmināre to defile, spoil, equivalent to con-con- + -tāminare, verbal derivative of *tāmen something touched <*tag-s-men, equivalent to tag-, variant stem of tangere to touch + -s-men resultative noun suffix; cf. examen
Other words for contaminate
Other words from contaminate
- con·tam·i·na·ble, adjective
- con·tam·i·na·tive, adjective
- con·tam·i·na·tor, noun
- con·tam·i·nous, adjective
- non·con·tam·i·na·ble, adjective
- non·con·tam·i·na·tive, adjective
- re·con·tam·i·nate, verb (used with object), re·con·tam·i·nat·ed, re·con·tam·i·nat·ing.
- self-con·tam·i·nat·ing, adjective
- un·con·tam·i·na·ble, adjective
- un·con·tam·i·nat·ed, adjective
- un·con·tam·i·na·tive, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
British Dictionary definitions for contaminate
contaminate
verb(kənˈtæmɪˌneɪt) (tr)
to make impure, esp by touching or mixing; pollute
to make radioactive by the addition of radioactive material
adjective(kənˈtæmɪnɪt, -ˌneɪt)
archaic contaminated
Origin of contaminate
1C15: from Latin contamināre to defile; related to Latin contingere to touch
Derived forms of contaminate
- contaminable, adjective
- contaminant, noun
- contaminative, adjective
- contaminator, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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