Burton's Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006
contaminate — con‧tam‧i‧nate [kənˈtæmneɪt] verb [transitive] 1. to make something dirty and dangerous, for example with chemicals or poison: • A large number of eggs were contaminated with salmonella. 2. INSURANCE to spoil goods carried by a ship, especially… … Financial and business terms
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… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
contaminate — contaminate, taint, attaint, pollute, defile mean to debase by making impure or unclean. Contaminate implies the presence or the influence of something external which by entering into or by coming in contact with a thing destroys or may destroy… … New Dictionary of Synonyms
Contaminate — Con*tam i*nate ( n[asl]t), a. Contaminated; defiled; polluted; tainted. Contaminate drink. Daniel. [1913 Webster] … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
contaminate — [kən tam′ə nāt΄] vt. contaminated, contaminating [ME contaminaten < L contaminatus, pp. of contaminare, to defile < contamen, contact, contagion < com , together + base of tangere, to touch: see TACT] to make impure, infected, corrupt,… … English World dictionary
contaminate — (v.) early 15c., from O.Fr. contaminer, from L. contaminatus, pp. of contaminare to defile, from contamen contact, pollution, from com together (see COM (Cf. com )) + *tag , base of tangere to touch (see TANGENT (Cf … Etymology dictionary
contaminate — [v] adulterate alloy, befoul, corrupt, debase, debauch, defile, deprave, desecrate, dirty, harm, infect, injure, muck up, pervert, poison, pollute, profane, radioactivate, soil, spoil, stain, sully, taint, tarnish, vitiate; concepts 252,254 Ant.… … New thesaurus
contaminate — ► VERB ▪ make impure by exposure to or addition of a poisonous or polluting substance. DERIVATIVES contaminant noun contamination noun contaminator noun. ORIGIN Latin contaminare make impure , from contamen contact, pollution … English terms dictionary
contaminate — v. (D; tr.) to contaminate by, with (to contaminate smb. with smt; a wound contaminated by bacteria) * * * [kən tæmɪneɪt] with (to contaminate smt with smt; a wound contaminated by bacteria) contemplate y. (G) he contaminated resigning (D; tr.)… … Combinatory dictionary
contaminate — transitive verb ( nated; nating) Etymology: Middle English, from Latin contaminatus, past participle of contaminare; akin to Latin contingere to have contact with more at contingent Date: 15th century 1. a. to soil, stain, corrupt, or infect by… … New Collegiate Dictionary
