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View synonyms for

contamination

[ kuhn-tam-uh-ney-shuhn ]

noun

  1. the act of contaminating, or of making something impure or unsuitable by contact with something unclean, bad, etc.
  2. the act of contaminating, or of rendering something harmful or unusable by the addition of radioactive material:

    the contamination of food following a nuclear attack.

  3. the state of being contaminated:

    The manufacturer recalled the product because of possible salmonella contamination.

  4. Rare. something that contaminates a place or substance, as by making it impure, unsuitable, harmful, or unusable; a contaminant.
  5. Linguistics.
    1. an alternation in a linguistic form due to the influence of a related form, as the replacement in English of earlier femelle with female through the influence of male.
    2. the process of forming blends. Compare blend ( def 9 ).


contamination

/ əˌæɪˈԱɪʃə /

noun

  1. the act or process of contaminating or the state of being contaminated
  2. something that contaminates
  3. linguistics the process by which one word or phrase is altered because of mistaken associations with another word or phrase; for example, the substitution of irregardless for regardless by association with such words as irrespective
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Other Word Forms

  • ԴDzcDz·ٲi·ԲtDz noun
  • cDz·ٲi·ԲtDz noun
  • -Dz·ٲi·ԲtDz noun
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Word History and Origins

Origin of contamination1

1375–1425; late Middle English contaminacioun < Late Latin DzԳ峾پō- (stem of DzԳ峾پō ), equivalent to DzԳ峾 ( us ) ( contaminate ) + -ō- -ion
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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

And we most definitely found fungi growing in amongst that contamination.

From

“We perform extensive raw and finished product testing on all our product and there was no evidence of contamination,” the supplier said, adding that its produce is processed using USDA-verified wash systems.

From

Benn admitted to two failed tests but insisted he was innocent of intentional doping and suggested it may have been because of contamination.

From

Soil testing revealed concerning levels of lead on properties downwind of the Eaton fire, as well as isolated “hot spots” of contamination in the Palisades, according to county officials.

From

The company recalled its frozen acai bowls in February due to possible contamination from foreign material and recalled sparkling mineral water in March after learning that 1% of the glass bottles could have damage.

From

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