adulterate
/əˈdʌltəreɪt/ (bre, ipa) · /əˈdʌltəreɪt/ (ame, ipa) · /ə-ˈdəl-tə-ˌrāt/ (ame, mw)
adulterate — verb
- adulteratepresent simple I / you / we / they
- adulterateshe / she / it
- adulteratedpast simple
- adulterating-ing form
1. to make a product less pure or less valuable by mixing in a cheaper or unwanted
to make a product less pure or less valuable by mixing in a cheaper or unwanted substance
The factory adulterated the milk with water before sending it to shops.
adulterate + product + with added material
Customs officers found traders adulterating olive oil with low-grade seed oil.
Lab tests showed that the fuel had been adulterated with paint thinner.
Mira reported that the shop adulterated honey with cheap syrup.
Some vendors adulterate ground spices to stretch each batch further.
- dilute
usually means weakening a liquid and does not always suggest cheating
- contaminate
broader and often used for harmful pollution rather than secret mixing
- taint
can describe making something impure, often with a lighter or less commercial focus
文法句型
adulterate milk with water
adulterate olive oil with cheaper oil
be adulterated with starch
用法筆記
Usually appears in formal, legal, or technical writing. The object is most often food, drink, medicine, or fuel, and the sentence often names what was mixed in.
常見錯誤
adulterate — adjective
- adulteratepositive
- more adulteratecomparative
- most adulteratesuperlative
1. describes food, drink, fuel, or another product that has been made impure by ext
describes food, drink, fuel, or another product that has been made impure by extra material mixed into it
Inspectors seized adulterate olive oil from three stalls at the night market.
formal adjective before product nouns
The report warned that adulterate spices were entering school lunch kitchens.
Customs officers rejected an adulterate fuel shipment at the harbor.
The court record described the wine as adulterate and unsafe to sell.
- adulterated
the usual modern adjective in everyday English
- tainted
broader and can describe moral or physical impurity
- spurious
stresses that something is false or not genuine
- pure
contains no extra material mixed in
- unadulterated
formal opposite meaning completely free from added impurities
文法句型
adulterate olive oil
adulterate fuel shipment
describe a product as adulterate
用法筆記
This sense is uncommon and mostly appears in formal inspection, trade, or legal writing. In everyday English, speakers usually choose adulterated instead.
2. connected with a sexual relationship between a married person and someone who is
connected with a sexual relationship between a married person and someone who is not their spouse
The preacher warned that adulterate love would shame the whole household.
rare literary use before nouns like love or affair
The novel centers on an adulterate affair between two unhappy spouses.
Court papers described the duke's adulterate conduct as a public scandal.
Lucia's diary records the guilt that followed their adulterate meetings.
- adulterous
the normal modern adjective for this meaning
- illicit
broader and does not always involve marriage
- extramarital
more clinical and directly stresses marriage outside the relationship
文法句型
an adulterate affair
adulterate conduct
adulterate meetings
用法筆記
This sense is very rare and mainly appears in literary, historical, religious, or legal writing. Everyday English almost always uses adulterous instead.