contaminate
/kənˈtæm.ɪ.neɪt/ (bre, ipa) · [kəntˈæmənˌet] /kənˈtæm.ə.neɪt/ (ame, ipa) · [kəntˈæmənˌet] /kən-ˈta-mə-ˌnāt/ (ame, mw)
contaminate — verb
- contaminatepresent simple I / you / we / they
- contaminates3rd person singular
- contaminating-ing form
- contaminatedpast simple
1. to make a substance, object, or place dirty, poisonous, or unsafe by adding a ha
to make a substance, object, or place dirty, poisonous, or unsafe by adding a harmful substance or something that does not belong there — for example, when chemicals leak into a river, when bacteria get into food, or when dust enters a medical sample.
The factory waste contaminated the river near Nila's village, killing most of the fish.
passive possible: be contaminated with [waste]
Beatrix threw away the chicken because she worried that bacteria had contaminated it.
collocation: contaminated with bacteria/germs
After the flood, contaminated water spread through the town and made many people sick.
Aylin wore gloves so that oil from her hands would not contaminate the lab samples.
- pollute
stronger emphasis on large-scale environmental damage; 'contaminate' is preferred for specific substances or smaller-scale tainting
- taint
suggests a small amount of impurity that spoils the whole; often used for food or reputation, less clinical than 'contaminate'
- corrupt
abstract or moral sense; not used for physical impurities
文法句型
contaminate + noun phrase
be contaminated with/by + noun phrase
用法筆記
Often used in environmental, medical, and food-safety writing. The subject is typically a harmful substance (bacteria, chemicals, waste), and the object is something that people use or consume (water, food, soil, air, blood, equipment). Common in the passive: 'The area was contaminated with toxic waste.'