- pollute
- pollute (v.) late 14c., "defile," from L. pollutus, pp. of polluere (see POLLUTION (Cf. pollution)). Related: Polluted; polluting. Meaning "contaminate the environment" first recorded 1954.
Etymology dictionary. 2014.
pollute
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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 … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
pollute — UK US /pəˈluːt/ verb [I or T] ► ENVIRONMENT to make water, the air, or land dirty and not safe for people, animals, and plants, especially with waste or chemicals: »You don t need to pollute the planet to grow your economy. »He expects coal… … Financial and business terms
pollute — ► VERB 1) contaminate with harmful or poisonous substances. 2) corrupt. DERIVATIVES pollutant adjective & noun polluter noun pollution noun. ORIGIN Latin polluere pollute, defile … English terms dictionary
pollute — [pə lo͞ot′] vt. polluted, polluting [ME poluten < L pollutus, pp. of polluere, to pollute < * por , for per , intens. + luere, to soil < IE base * leu , dirt > Gr lyma, dirt] 1. to make unclean, impure, or corrupt; defile; dirty 2. to … English World dictionary
Pollute — Pol*lute , a. [L. pollutus.] Polluted. [R.] Milton. [1913 Webster] … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
pollute — I verb adulterate, alloy, befoul, begrime, bemire, besmirch, bespatter, contaminate, corrupt, debase, debauch, defile, degrade, denaturalize, deprave, desecrate, destroy, dirty, dishonor, filthify, foul, grime, impair, infect, maculate, make foul … Law dictionary
pollute — *contaminate, defile, taint, attaint Analogous words: *debase, vitiate, corrupt, deprave, pervert: *abuse, outrage, mistreat: profane, desecrate, blaspheme (see corresponding nouns at PROFANATION) … New Dictionary of Synonyms
pollute — [v] make dirty; corrupt adulterate, alloy, befoul, besmirch, contaminate, debase, debauch, defile, deprave, desecrate, dirty, dishonor, foul, infect, make filthy, mar, poison, profane, soil, spoil, stain, sully, taint, violate; concepts 246,254… … New thesaurus
pollute — verb 1) fish farms will pollute the lake Syn: contaminate, adulterate, taint, poison, foul, dirty, soil, infect; literary befoul Ant: purify 2) propaganda polluted this nation Syn … Thesaurus of popular words
pollute — verb (T) 1 to make air, water, soil etc dangerously dirty and not suitable for people to use: beaches polluted by raw sewage | industrial emissions that pollute the air 2 pollute sb s mind to give someone immoral thoughts and spoil their… … Longman dictionary of contemporary English
