pollute
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to make foul or unclean, especially with harmful chemical or waste products; dirty.
to pollute the air with smoke.
- Antonyms:
- purify
-
to make morally unclean; defile.
- Antonyms:
- purify
-
to render ceremonially impure; desecrate.
to pollute a house of worship.
-
Informal. to render less effective or efficient.
The use of inferior equipment has polluted the company's service.
verb
-
to contaminate, as with poisonous or harmful substances
-
to make morally corrupt or impure; sully
-
to desecrate or defile
Other Word Forms
- nonpolluting adjective
- polluter noun
- pollutive adjective
- unpolluting adjective
Etymology
Origin of pollute
First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English polute, from Latin pollūtus, past participle of polluere “to soil, defile,” equivalent to pol-, assimilated variant of por- “forth, forward” (variant of prefix per- ), here marking completed action + -lū- base of -luere (akin to lutum “mud, dirt,” lustrum “muddy place”) + -tus past participle suffix; per-
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Signs of that shift are already visible, as fake images of real incidents further pollute the information landscape.
From Barron's • Apr. 2, 2026
"Microplastics do not just pollute aquatic environments as visible particles. They also create an invisible chemical plume that changes as they weather," said lead author Jiunian Guan of Northeast Normal University.
From Science Daily • Dec. 31, 2025
Economists like that idea because the more expensive it is to pollute, the more likely we all are to switch to clean energy alternatives.
From BBC • Nov. 22, 2025
Where China has doubled down on EVs, Japan has largely avoided the tumult by pushing for vehicles that pollute less without requiring specific technologies.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 15, 2025
“You must not let their shadow fall upon you,” she warned, “or it will pollute you.”
From "Homeless Bird" by Gloria Whelan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.