CONTAMINATING Synonyms: 39 Similar and Opposite Words

contaminating

verb

present participle of contaminate

as in polluting

to make unfit for use by the addition of something harmful or undesirable a supply of drinking water that was contaminated by a toxic waste dump

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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of contaminating Simon Wohlfahrt | Afp | Getty Images As France’s economic and political woes mount, investors are asking whether the country’s debt problems risk contaminating the rest of the euro zone. — Jenni Reid,chloe Taylor, CNBC, 23 Oct. 2026 Lincoln Park Zoo sits atop a former burial ground, Chicago City Cemetery, which was moved in the 1860s amid concerns that the graves were contaminating the water supply. — Jennifer Day, Chicago Tribune, 8 Oct. 2026 How Monster Depicts the Borden Murders Their first attempt involves serving the couple oysters in May, when the series says the city of Fall River dumps its sewage over the oyster beds, contaminating the shellfish with potentially fatal bacteria. — Chris Spargo, PEOPLE, 18 Sep. 2026 Of course, a yeast that can survive on Mars is … well, a yeast that can survive on Mars, which could actually risk contaminating the planet with hardy and fast-multiplying Earth microbes. — Kiona N. Smith, Space.com, 17 Sep. 2026 In the 1920s, a modest mercury mine grew into a large open-pit operation, contaminating the watershed with the toxic metal. — Noah Haggerty, Los Angeles Times, 11 Sep. 2026 Even the regular, gluten pizzas are tossed with rice flour, to avoid wheat flour contaminating the surfaces in the kitchen. — Elizabeth MacBride, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2026 Once the gold is separated, the mercury is released into the rivers, contaminating water sources and fish essential to Indigenous life. — Gabriela Sa Pessoa, Fortune, 24 July 2026 The district, which plans to send out an inspector, could determine whether wind carrying coal dust stored nearby may be contaminating the sugar. — Sierra Lopez, Mercury News, 9 July 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for contaminating

Verb

Throwing a piece of garbage out of the window affects every Texan, polluting water and soil and affecting wildlife.

— Katie Standing, CBS News, 14 Oct. 2026
This means the development of new clean energy sources will provide greater financial benefits to families rather than polluting, expensive, and outdated sources of energy like oil and gas.

— Sanya Carley, Time, 7 Oct. 2026

Definition of polluting

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contaminates

contaminating

contamination

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“Contaminating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/contaminating. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of contaminating

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