contaminate
verb
[ kənˈtamɪneɪt ]
• make (something) impure by exposure to or addition of a poisonous or polluting substance.
• "the site was found to be contaminated by radioactivity"
Similar:
pollute,
adulterate,
make impure,
defile,
debase,
corrupt,
taint,
infect,
blight,
foul,
spoil,
soil,
mar,
impair,
stain,
befoul,
sully,
tarnish,
poison,
radioactivate,
vitiate,
Origin:
late Middle English: from Latin contaminat- ‘made impure’, from the verb contaminare, from contamen ‘contact, pollution’, from con- ‘together with’ + the base of tangere ‘to touch’.
