pollution
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pollution
- /pəˈljuːʃən/ UK
- /pəˈluːʃən/ UK
- /pəˈluʃən/ US
Rhymes with -uːʃən
Where it comes from
From Middle English pollucioun, pollucion (“desecration, impurity”), from Anglo-Norman pollutiun, Middle French pollution, pollucion, and their source, post-classical Latin pollūtiō (“defilement, desecration; nocturnal emission”) (4th century), from the participial stem of polluō (“to soil, defile, contaminate”), from por- (“before”) + -luō (“to smear”), related to lutum (“mud”) and luēs (“filth”). Compare Ancient Greek λῦμα (lûma, “filth, dirt, disgrace”) and λῦμαξ (lûmax, “rubbish, refuse”), Old Irish loth (“mud, dirt”), Lithuanian lutynas (“pool, puddle”). By surface analysis, pollute + -ion.
noun pollutions
-
Physical contamination, now especially the contamination of the environment by harmful substances, or by disruptive levels of noise, light etc.
Pollution levels are almost always higher in cities rather than the countryside, what with the cars, industry and so on.
Similar: defedation, defilement, soilage, adulteration, contamination, pollution, sophistication · Opposite: conservation
-
Something that pollutes; a pollutant.
Similar: adulterant, contaminant, contamination, impurity, sophisticant, adulterator, contaminator, pollutant, pollution, taint
-
The desecration of something holy or sacred; defilement, profanation.
Men who attend the Altar, and should most / Endevor Peace: thir strife pollution brings / Upon the Temple it self […].
Similar: debasement, debauchment, perversion, abasement, adulteration, corruption, defilement, depravation, depravement, impurification, pollution, profanation · Opposite: purity
- The ejaculation of semen outside of sexual intercourse, especially a nocturnal emission. When occasioned by a voluntary act it is called, simply, Pollution or Masturbation (q.v.); when excited, during sleep, by lascivious dreams, it takes the name Noctur'nal pollution, Exoneiro'sis, Oneirog'mos, Oneirog'onos, Gonorrhœ'a dormien'tium, G. oneirog'onos, G. Vera, G. libidino'sa, Proflu'vium
-
Moral or spiritual corruption; impurity, degradation, defilement.
She condescended to wait on them at Pemberley, in spite of that pollution which its woods had received.
Similar: baseness, perversion, corruption, defilement, degeneracy, degradation, depravation, depravedness, depravity, impurity, iniquity, lewdity
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: befoulment, contamination, defilement, smog, sewage, air, decontamination, acidification, spill, api, environment, band, poisoning, infection, environmental, fouling
Translations
Every language
noun the contamination of the environment by harmful substances
| Español | polución, contaminación |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 오염 oyeom |
| 日本語 | 汚染 osen |
| 中文 | 污染 wūrǎn |
| हिन्दी | प्रदूषण pradūṣaṇ, कालुष्य kāluṣya |
| Kiswahili | uchafuzi |
| Português | poluição |
| Français | pollution |
| Deutsch | Verunreinigung, Verschmutzung, Umweltverschmutzung, Pollution |
| Italiano | inquinamento |
| Ελληνικά | ρύπανση rýpansi, μόλυνση mólynsi |
| Română | poluare |
| Русский | загрязне́ние zagrjaznénije |
| Tiếng Việt | sự ô nhiễm |
| العربية | تَلْوِيث talwīṯ, تَلَوُّث talawwuṯ |
| עברית | זִהוּם zihúm |
noun something that pollutes; pollutant — see also pollutant
| 日本語 | 汚染物質 osen busshitsu |
|---|---|
| 中文 | 污染物 wūrănwù |
| Português | poluente |
| Italiano | inquinante |
| Ελληνικά | ρύπος rýpos |
| עברית | זיהום, זִהוּם zihúm, מְזַהֵם mezahém |
noun archaic: emission of semen at other times than in sexual intercourse
| Português | polução |
|---|---|
| Français | pollution |
| Italiano | polluzione |
| Русский | поллю́ция polljúcija |
| עברית | שפיכת זרע לבטלה shfikhát zéra levatalá |
noun archaic: defilement, corruption
| Português | poluição |
|---|---|
| Français | défilement |
| עברית | סיאוב seúv |
Talk about this word "pollution." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/pollution. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. pollution. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/pollution "pollution." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/pollution.Cite this
@misc{pollution_2026,
title = {pollution},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/pollution},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
