contaminate
English
Etymology
From Old French contaminer, from Latin contaminare (“to touch together, blend, mingle, corrupt, defile”), from contamen (“contact, defilement, contagion”), related to tangere. More at taste, tax, and taxi.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /kənˈtæmɪneɪt/
Audio (US) (file) Audio (New Jersey) (file)
Verb
contaminate (third-person singular simple present contaminates, present participle contaminating, simple past and past participle contaminated)
- (transitive) To make something dangerous or toxic by introducing impurities or foreign matter.
- This water is contaminated. It isn't safe to drink.
- (transitive) To soil, stain, corrupt, or infect by contact or association.
- 1599 (first performance), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Iulius Cæsar”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene iii]:
- Shall we now
Contaminate our figures with base bribes?
- 1766, [Oliver Goldsmith], The Vicar of Wakefield: […], volumes (please specify |volume=I or II), Salisbury, Wiltshire: […] B. Collins, for F[rancis] Newbery, […], →OCLC; reprinted London: Elliot Stock, 1885, →OCLC:
- I would neither have simplicity imposed upon, nor virtue contaminated.
- 2014 April 12, Michael Inwood, “Martin Heidegger: the philosopher who fell for Hitler [print version: Hitler's philosopher]”, in The Daily Telegraph (Review), London, page R11:
- [Martin] Heidegger's repellent political beliefs do not contaminate his philosophical work.
- (transitive) To make unfit for use by the introduction of unwholesome or undesirable elements.
- Do not contaminate the peanut butter with the jelly.
- To infect, often with bad objects
Derived terms
Related terms
Translations
To introduce impurities or foreign matter
|
Further reading
- “contaminate”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
- “contaminate”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
- “contaminate”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
Italian
Verb
contaminate
- inflection of contaminare:
- second-person plural present indicative
- second-person plural imperative
- feminine plural past participle
Anagrams
Latin
Spanish
This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.