Pollute

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /pəˈluːt/

Definitions

1. To introduce harmful substances or waste into the air, water, or soil, degrading the natural environment
2. Causing damage to natural areas by adding pollutants that disrupt ecosystems and reduce quality of air or water
3. Making a place dirty or unsafe by releasing toxic or waste materials that harm plants, animals, or humans

Etymology: The Latin verb "polluere" meant to soil, defile or dishonor, and its most striking early sense was sexual: "pollutus" could describe a woman who was no longer a virgin. The sense of dirtying or contaminating came later, as the verb spread from the idea of spoiling a person's chastity or honor to spoiling anything clean, sacred or pure. English took the word from Latin through Middle English "polluten", so the modern verb carries the older Latin meaning of defilement rather than a purely physical notion of dirt. Today it is most often applied to water, air and land, where the core idea of a pure thing being fouled by something foreign remains intact.

Synonyms: contaminate, taint, defile, dirty, corrupt

Antonyms: purify, clean, clarify, sanitize