1
as in dilute
containing foreign or lower-grade substances
the pharmacist was convicted of selling adulterate drugs in order to maximize profits
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in adulterous
relating to or being a sexual encounter or relationship between a married person and someone other than their spouse
caught red-handed in what he claimed was his first adulterate encounter
Synonyms & Similar Words
as in to dilute
to alter (something) for the worse with the addition of foreign or lower-grade substances
the company was fined for adulterating its "all beef" frankfurters with cereal
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Examples Sentences
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Recent Examples of adulterate
Trang Tran, Pharmd, Verywell Health, 18 Oct. 2024
Prosecutors said 75% of the fentanyl given to patients at the clinic from June to October 2020 was adulterated by saline.
—Dave Collins, Los Angeles Times, 9 Sep. 2024
The practice of adulterating honey is well known, and historically adulterants such as ash and potato flour have been used.
—Daniel Matthews, Fortune Europe, 5 Aug. 2024
There has been a lot of coverage over the past couple years about how some extra virgin olive oils are actually adulterated with other oils.
—Marshall Bright, refinery29.com, 24 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for adulterate 
Verb
Additionally, some products might be adulterated or tainted with prescription-drug ingredients.15
14.
—Trang Tran, Pharmd, Verywell Health, 18 Oct. 2024
Prosecutors said 75% of the fentanyl given to patients at the clinic from June to October 2020 was adulterated by saline.
—Dave Collins, Los Angeles Times, 9 Sep. 2024
The practice of adulterating honey is well known, and historically adulterants such as ash and potato flour have been used.
—Daniel Matthews, Fortune Europe, 5 Aug. 2024
There has been a lot of coverage over the past couple years about how some extra virgin olive oils are actually adulterated with other oils.
—Marshall Bright, refinery29.com, 24 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for adulterate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for adulterate
Adjective
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Vinegar, which is really dilute acetic acid, will help the milk curdle by further denaturing the whey proteins and neutralizing negative charges at the surface of casein micelles.Liz Roth-Johnson, Discover Magazine, 12 Feb. 2013
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However toxic a substance may be, the amount of exposure received by the general population is very dilute.George Johnson, Discover Magazine, 8 July 2013
Adjective
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The new version strips down the book’s narrative, concentrating on the plight of an adulterous airline pilot (Cage) who’s forced to land a plane after all the good Christians are called up to heaven.Emily Heller, Vulture, 12 July 2024
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The aforementioned two seasons of Big Little Lies featured Kidman as Celeste Wright, a rich former lawyer and now Monterrey stay-at-home mom with an abusive, adulterous, and freshly dead husband that’s all based on a Liane Moriarty novel.Alex Abad-Santos, Vox, 13 Sep. 2024
Verb
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According to the United Nation Environment Programme, people produce 400 million tonnes of plastic waste every year, polluting water supplies.Leigh Cuen, Forbes, 26 Nov. 2024
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By Zoë Schlanger When delegates of the world gather in Baku, Azerbaijan, next week for the most important yearly meeting on climate change, their meetings will overlook a reeking lake, polluted by the oil fields on the other side.Zoë Schlanger, The Atlantic, 5 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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When Carmela throws Tony out of the house for yet more extramarital activity, the two lay their feelings bare in a raw encounter that showcases James Gandolfini and Edie Falco's impeccable acting skills.Griff Griffin, Newsweek, 24 Dec. 2024
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Photo: Everett Collection Billy Wilder’s classic comedy-drama, about a business exec (Jack Lemmon) who lets his bosses use his apartment for their extramarital affairs and trysts, could have been set at any time of year.Bob Sassone, Vulture, 17 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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The company in 2020 pleaded guilty to distributing adulterated ice-cream products and agreed to pay a fine over the outbreak.Dylan Tokar, WSJ, 2 Feb. 2023
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And while most of those overdoses involved the illicit synthetic opioid fentanyl, experts say that an adulterated and contaminated drug supply is also leading to deaths.Nadia Kounang, CNN, 17 Mar. 2022
Adjective
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Balancing exams, assignments, and extracurricular activities can be overwhelming.Maja Zelihic, Forbes, 21 Dec. 2024
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There’s work to be done, emails to be answered and extracurricular activities to shuffle your kid to.Harmeet Kaur, CNN, 13 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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In a cinematic landscape laden with diluted IP projects, Jenkins is hardly the first filmmaker working as a cog in a billion-dollar machine.Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 17 Dec. 2024
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As bowl games outside the College Football Playoff have become more diluted, organizers have sought new ways to steal the spotlight.Peter Burke, Fox News, 16 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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Carnivorous mammals can contract it by coming into contact with infected birds or a contaminated environment.Minyvonne Burke, NBC News, 25 Dec. 2024
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Salmonella can be spread via contaminated water errantly used to irrigate crops, according to the CDC.Ahjané Forbes, USA TODAY, 21 Dec. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near adulterate
Cite this Entry
“Adulterate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/adulterate. Accessed 31 Dec. 2024.
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