How to Use adulterate in a Sentence

adulterate

verb
  • The company is accused of adulterating its products with cheap additives.
  • Most of the ketamine was in powder form, which could raise the risk of being adulterated with deadly drugs such as fentanyl.
    — Daniel Gilbert, Washington Post, 24 May 2023
  • It has not been diluted, processed or adulterated in any way — a massive problem on the worldwide honey market.
    — Nicole Haase, Journal Sentinel, 6 June 2023
  • Their pure, unadulterated rum had been adulterated, and Wathen and Morris would have to figure out what to do about it.
    — Julia Thiel, Chicago Reader, 9 Apr. 2018
  • But apparently the modern smoothie has to be gross, adulterated with kale and chia seeds, protein powder and vermiculite.
    — John Kelly, Washington Post, 18 June 2017
  • Sunset added another $850 fee to verify that the urine hadn’t been adulterated, among other charges.
    — Beth Mole, Ars Technica, 19 Feb. 2018
  • As heroin has been adulterated with the deadlier opioid fentanyl, often without the user’s knowledge, the overdose death rate has soared.
    — Aubrey Whelan, Philly.com, 20 Mar. 2018
  • An even more interesting finding was that cheaper avocado oils were more likely to be adulterated or tainted with other oils.
    — Good Housekeeping, 4 June 2023
  • Why does wine, one of the simplest yet most kaleidoscopic of beverages, need to be adulterated by something as foreign as chocolate to be appealing?
    — Mike Dunne, sacbee, 13 Feb. 2018
  • First came soy milk, offered in cafeterias as an alternative with which the lactose-intolerant could adulterate their covfefe.
    — Mary Norris, The New Yorker, 23 Jan. 2020
  • Large trials are nearly impossible to conduct, since products are often adulterated and the concentrations of cannabinoids vary from plant to plant.
    — C. Michael White, Philly.com, 12 Jan. 2018
  • This comes after Martin pled guilty to willfully poisoning or adulterating food, water or medicine, which is a felony offense in Nevada.
    — Kimberlee Speakman, PEOPLE, 17 Jan. 2026
  • Cruz Perez, 47, has been charged with two counts of adulterating a substance with bodily fluids and is set to appear in court again March 28.
    — Greg Norman, Fox News, 9 Mar. 2018
  • Researchers found that nearly 70% of private label avocado oil is rancid or adulterated.
    — Good Housekeeping, 4 June 2023
  • Some olive oils are adulterated, which means other substances may be added to them to lower the quality—and often manufacturing costs—while increasing the amount in the bottle.
    — Sohaib Imtiaz, Verywell Health, 27 Apr. 2026
  • Of the drugs described as being potentially adulterated are skincare and Assured Brand products.
    — Benjamin Vanhoose, PEOPLE.com, 15 Nov. 2019
  • Some opioids used to adulterate heroin last longer than Narcan, the drug used to stop overdoses, which means users may need multiple Narcan injections to survive one bad dose.
    — Cat Ferguson, The Verge, 21 May 2018
  • Some olive oils are adulterated, meaning that other substances may be added to them to lower their quality—and often manufacturing costs—while increasing the amount in the bottle.
    — Sohaib Imtiaz, Verywell Health, 15 Dec. 2025
  • In addition, the organization may step in if a product is clearly adulterated or misbranded and the company doesn’t issue a recall itself.
    — Dr. Manny Alvarez, Fox News, 14 July 2017
  • Greedy corporations have adulterated public wellness, its healthcare providers functioning more like venal debt collectors than caregivers.
    — Marc Weingarten, Los Angeles Times, 20 Apr. 2023
  • The new law says Maine would not consider edibles produced with recreational marijuana adulterated.
    — Washington Post, 27 June 2019
  • While tequila is supposed to be made only from a single variety of the plant, the blue agave (it's often adulterated; more on that later), mezcal makers choose from over a hundred different varieties.
    — John Defore, The Hollywood Reporter, 10 Mar. 2018
  • Taking them off the placebo could adulterate trial data and compromise other companies’ vaccine trials if their volunteers drop out to get Pfizer’s vaccine.
    — Rolfe Winkler, WSJ, 9 Dec. 2020
  • Instead, the drug war has incentivized dealers to adulterate the heroin supply with fentanyl, a dangerously potent synthetic opioid that is killing people in growing numbers.
    — Daniel Denvir, Slate Magazine, 30 May 2017
  • The test strip, originally designed for the medical profession to test urine, can also be used off-label by heroin and cocaine users who fear their drugs have been adulterated with the synthetic opioid fentanyl.
    — Arian Campo-Flores, WSJ, 31 Dec. 2018
  • In the canon of infidelity drama, Harold Pinter’s Betrayal may hold the distinction of being the least … adulterated.
    — Allison Adato, EW.com, 6 Sep. 2019
  • Instead, dealers usually adulterate their drugs, combining fentanyl with inert powders such as sugar and baby powder, or mixing in other drugs to stretch the active ingredient.
    — Charles Fain Lehman, The Atlantic, 20 Jan. 2026
  • However, pentobarbital should never be present in pet food and products containing any amount of pentobarbital are considered to be adulterated.
    — David J. Neal, miamiherald, 16 Feb. 2018
  • Perez has been charged with two counts of adulterating a substance with bodily fluids, according to the complaint, which was filed in Ramsey County District Court.
    — Jared Gilmour, miamiherald, 8 Mar. 2018
  • The use of hemp in animal feed is forbidden because the Food and Drug Administration considers hemp an adulterating substance.
    — Greeley Tribune, The Denver Post, 27 Mar. 2017

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'adulterate.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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