Wiktionary

contaminate

English

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Etymology

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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

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  • IPA(key): /kənˈtæmɪneɪt/
    • Audio (US):(file)
    • Audio (New Jersey):(file)

Verb

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contaminate (third-person singular simple present contaminates, present participle contaminating, simple past and past participle contaminated)

  1. (transitive) To make something dangerous or toxic by introducing impurities or foreign matter.
    This water is contaminated. It isn't safe to drink.
  2. (transitive) To soil, stain, corrupt, or infect by contact or association.
  3. (transitive) To make unfit for use by the introduction of unwholesome or undesirable elements.
    Do not contaminate the peanut butter with the jelly.
  4. (transitive) To infect, usually of a deadly virus.

Derived terms

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Translations

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Further reading

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Italian

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Verb

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contaminate

  1. inflection of contaminare:
    1. second-person plural present indicative
    2. second-person plural imperative
    3. feminine plural past participle

Anagrams

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Latin

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Verb

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contāmināte

  1. second-person plural present active imperative of contāminō

Spanish

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Verb

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contaminate

  1. second-person singular voseo imperative of contaminar combined with te
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