pollute
English · Thesaurus
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pollute
- /pəˈluːt/
- /pəˈljuːt/
Rhymes with -uːt
Where it comes from
From Middle English polluten, borrowed from Latin pollūtum, from pollūtus (“no longer virgin", "unchaste”), perfect passive participle of polluō (“soil", "defile", "dishonor”).
verb pollutes · polluting · polluted
-
To make something harmful, especially by the addition of some unwanted product.
The factory polluted the river when it cleaned its tanks.
Similar: contaminate, poison, taint
-
To make something or somewhere less suitable for some activity, especially by the introduction of some unnatural factor.
The lights from the stadium polluted the night sky, and we couldn't see the stars.
Similar: blight, mar, ruin, ball up, bumble, botch, bugger up, bungle, contaminate, corrupt, crab, deprave
-
To corrupt or profane
But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the polluted, as for murderers, fornicators, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their lot shall be in the lake that burns with fire and sulphur, which is the second death.
Similar: debauch, lead astray, defile, sully, adulterate, corrupt, demoralize, detort, file, immoralize, pervert, pollute
-
To violate sexually; to debauch; to dishonour.
Similar: abuse, outrage, ravish, constuprate, defile, defoul, dishonour, force, misuse, oppress, pollute, rape
- to flatulate.
adjective more pollute · most pollute
- Polluted; defiled.
Translations
Every language
verb to make something harmful
| Español | contaminar, polucionar |
|---|---|
| Português | contaminar, poluir |
| Français | polluer |
| Deutsch | verschmutzen |
| Italiano | inquinare |
| Русский | загрязня́ть zagrjaznjátʹ, загрязни́ть zagrjaznítʹ |
Talk about this word "pollute." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/pollute. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. pollute. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/pollute "pollute." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/pollute.Cite this
@misc{pollute_2026,
title = {pollute},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/pollute},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
