contaminate

verb/kənˈtæməˌneɪt/

Frequency rank: #15,245 of 20,003 in the WORDED list (wordfreq data)

Meaning

to make something impure or harmful by introducing pollutants or dangerous substances.

Illustration for the English word “contaminate”

Example sentence

Scientists warned that the chemical spill could contaminate the local water supply.

Synonyms & related words

More words in ranks 15,201–15,300