1
as in dilute
containing foreign or lower-grade substances
the pharmacist was convicted of selling adulterate drugs in order to maximize profits
Synonyms & Similar Words
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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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of adulterate
Tony Sachs, Forbes, 3 Jan. 2025
The policy represents a major shift in the U.S. after years of successful lobbying by the pharmaceutical industry, which said imports would expose U.S. patients to risks of counterfeit or adulterated drugs.
—Matthew Perrone, San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 Jan. 2024
Or: If Amendment 3 passes, street dealers hoping to cultivate addiction by adulterating pot with some of the world’s most dangerous opioids would see a downturn in profits.
—Pat Beall, Sun Sentinel, 1 Nov. 2024
Check best-by dates Boar's Head Provisions Co., Inc. recalled all liverwurst product produced by the establishment that is currently available in commerce because it may be adulterated with Listeria monocytogenes.
—Marley Malenfant, Austin American-Statesman, 29 Aug. 2024
See All Example Sentences for adulterate
Verb
Of course, a lot of us have the natural instinct to drink cask strength whiskey neat, as if adding water is needlessly adulterating the spirit, or worse yet, a sign of wimpiness.
—Tony Sachs, Forbes, 3 Jan. 2025
The policy represents a major shift in the U.S. after years of successful lobbying by the pharmaceutical industry, which said imports would expose U.S. patients to risks of counterfeit or adulterated drugs.
—Matthew Perrone, San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 Jan. 2024
Or: If Amendment 3 passes, street dealers hoping to cultivate addiction by adulterating pot with some of the world’s most dangerous opioids would see a downturn in profits.
—Pat Beall, Sun Sentinel, 1 Nov. 2024
Check best-by dates Boar's Head Provisions Co., Inc. recalled all liverwurst product produced by the establishment that is currently available in commerce because it may be adulterated with Listeria monocytogenes.
—Marley Malenfant, Austin American-Statesman, 29 Aug. 2024
See All Example Sentences for adulterate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for adulterate
Adjective
-
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
-
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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Nor did anyone blink when Shonda Rhimes set Scandal within the White House of a wishy-washy, adulterous GOP President who’d unwittingly stolen an election.—
Judy Berman,
TIME,
20 Feb. 2025
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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
Verb
-
The intent, the critics have said, is in fact to stifle findings about the noxious content that is increasingly polluting social media and political discourse.—
Steven Lee Myers,
New York Times,
15 May 2025
-
Leaks from this antiquated sewer system are polluting Rock Creek and threaten the public health of all those who come in contact with it.—
Dan Gooding
Gabe Whisnant,
MSNBC Newsweek,
12 May 2025
Adjective
-
His childhood friend–slash–onetime extramarital hookup, Nora, is back in the hospital with an infected graft, and her condition seems to get worse by the minute.—
Laura Bradley,
Vulture,
9 May 2025
-
These California homes were among the very few commissions Wright worked on between 1922 and 1934, partly due to his declining reputation from the Taliesin murders and his extramarital affair and partly due to the Great Depression.—
Katherine McLaughlin,
Architectural Digest,
8 May 2025
Adjective
-
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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Pinellas board member Lisa Cane said students have voiced concern over how later times could affect their jobs and extracurricular activities.—
Jasmine Laws,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 Apr. 2025
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The couple is looking forward to having their children (and their children’s friends) work alongside them in between their respective extracurricular activities.—
Jenna Thompson,
Kansas City Star,
29 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
In 2024, the retailer posted net income of $12 million, or 13 cents a diluted share, on total revenues of $7.99 billion, which included net sales of $7.97 billion.—
Vicki M. Young,
Footwear News,
16 May 2025
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The profit figure compared with a loss of $1.26 per diluted share in the year-ago quarter.—
Dade Hayes,
Deadline,
8 May 2025
Adjective
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Mostly encountered in developing countries with poor water sanitation, the shape-shifting amoeba typically enters a person's colon after ingesting contaminated food or water.—
Maria Azzurra Volpe,
MSNBC Newsweek,
13 May 2025
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The nation's top health advisor spent time with his grandchildren on Mother's Day in a contaminated Maryland creek, according to photos shared on his social media.—
Natalie Neysa Alund,
USA Today,
13 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Adulterate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/adulterate. Accessed 22 May. 2025.
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