pollute

pollute
    v 1: make impure; "The industrial wastes polluted the lake"
         [syn: {pollute}, {foul}, {contaminate}]
    

Pollute \Pol*lute"\, a. [L. pollutus.]
   Polluted. [R.] --Milton.
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Pollute \Pol*lute"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Polluted}; p. pr. &
   vb. n. {Polluting}.] [L. pollutus, p. p. of polluere to
   defile, to pollute, from a prep. appearing only in comp. +
   luere to wash. See {Position}, {Lave}.]
   1. To make foul, impure, or unclean; to defile; to taint; to
      soil; to desecrate; -- used of physical or moral
      defilement.
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            The land was polluted with blood.     --Ps. cvi. 38
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            Wickedness . . . hath polluted the whole earth. --2
                                                  Esd. xv. 6.
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   2. To violate sexually; to debauch; to dishonor.
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   3. (Jewish Law) To render ceremonially unclean; to disqualify
      or unfit for sacred use or service, or for social
      intercourse.
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            Neither shall ye pollute the holy things of the
            children of Israel, lest ye die.      --Num. xviii.
                                                  32.
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            They have polluted themselves with blood. --Lam. iv.
                                                  14.
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   Syn: To defile; soil; contaminate; corrupt; taint; vitiate;
        debauch; dishonor; ravish.
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128 Moby Thesaurus words for "pollute":
      abuse, adulterate, afflict, aggrieve, alloy, bastardize, befoul,
      benasty, bewitch, blight, booze up, boozify, canker, cheapen,
      coarsen, condemn, confound, contaminate, convert, corrupt, crock,
      crucify, curse, cut, damage, debase, debauch, defalcate, defile,
      deflower, degenerate, degrade, denaturalize, denature, deprave,
      desecrate, despoil, destroy, devalue, dilute, dirty, disadvantage,
      disserve, distort, distress, divert, do a mischief, do evil,
      do ill, do wrong, do wrong by, doctor, doctor up, doom, embezzle,
      envenom, fortify, foul, fuddle, get into trouble, harass, harm,
      hex, hurt, impair, infect, injure, jinx, lace, maladminister,
      maltreat, menace, mess, mess up, misapply, misappropriate,
      misemploy, mishandle, mismanage, mistreat, misuse, molest, nasty,
      outrage, overtake, peculate, persecute, pervert, pickle, pilfer,
      plaster, play havoc with, play hob with, poison, prejudice,
      profane, prostitute, ravage, ravish, savage, scathe, soil, souse,
      spike, spoil, stain, stew, stone, sully, swack, taint, tamper with,
      tarnish, threaten, tipsify, torment, torture, twist, ulcerate,
      violate, vitiate, vulgarize, warp, water, water down, wound,
      wreak havoc on, wrong