contaminate

contaminate
    v 1: make impure; "The industrial wastes polluted the lake"
         [syn: {pollute}, {foul}, {contaminate}]
    2: make radioactive by adding radioactive material; "Don't drink
       the water--it's contaminated" [ant: {decontaminate}]
    

Contaminate \Con*tam"i*nate\ (-n[asl]t), a.
   Contaminated; defiled; polluted; tainted. "Contaminate
   drink." --Daniel.
   [1913 Webster]
    

Contaminate \Con*tam"i*nate\ (k[o^]n*t[a^]m"[i^]*n[=a]t), v. t.
   [imp. & p. p. {Contaminated}; p. pr. & vb. n.
   {Contaminating}.] [L. contaminatus, p. p. of contaminare to
   bring into contact, to contaminate, fr. contamen contagion,
   for contagmen; con- + root of tangere to touch. See
   {Contact}.]
   To soil, stain, or corrupt by contact; to tarnish; to sully;
   to taint; to pollute; to defile.
   [1913 Webster]

         Shall we now
         Contaminate our figures with base bribes? --Shak.
   [1913 Webster]

         I would neither have simplicity imposed upon, nor
         virtue contaminated.                     --Goldsmith.

   Syn: To pollute; defile; sully; taint; tarnish; soil; stain;
        corrupt.
        [1913 Webster]
    

66 Moby Thesaurus words for "contaminate":
      activate, adulterate, alloy, bastardize, befoul, benasty, canker,
      charge, cheapen, coarsen, confound, corrupt, cut, debase, debauch,
      defile, deflower, degenerate, degrade, denaturalize, denature,
      deprave, desecrate, despoil, devalue, dilute, dirty, disease,
      distort, doctor, doctor up, fortify, foul, harm, infect, injure,
      irradiate, lace, mess, mess up, misuse, nasty, pervert, poison,
      pollute, prostitute, radiumize, ravage, ravish, rot, soil, spike,
      spoil, stain, sully, taint, tamper with, tarnish, twist, ulcerate,
      violate, vitiate, vulgarize, warp, water, water down