Synonyms of contaminate
97 similar words
Another word for contaminate is poison. Other synonyms of contaminate are soil, foul, taint, spot and pollute.
Synonyms and similar words for contaminate
verbTo make something dangerous or toxic by introducing impurities or foreign matter.
verbTo soil, stain, corrupt, or infect by contact or association.
- defileTo make (someone or something) physically dirty or unclean; to befoul, to soil.
- sullyTo soil or stain; to dirty.
- beclart UK, dialectalTo besmear; bedaub; bemire; smear all over with dirt.
- bedirtyTo dirty, soil; make dirty.
- bedizen UK, dialectalTo make (someone or something) dirty; to bedaub, to besmear, to dirty.
- befoulTo make foul; to soil; to contaminate, pollute.
- begrimeTo ingrain grime or dirt which is difficult to remove into (something); also (more generally), to make (something)...
- beshit figuratively, vulgarTo soil; to spoil; to defile; to befoul.
- besmearTo smear over, to smear all over, to daub.
- besmirchTo make dirty.
- besullyTo make sullied or soiled; defile.
- blackenTo make dirty.
- blotTo impair; to damage; to mar; to soil.
- clatTo dirty.
- darkenTo make foul; to sully; to tarnish.
- dirtenTo make or become dirty or soiled.
- dirty
- elt ScotlandTo begrime; soil with mud; daub; smear.
- foulTo make dirty.
- gunkTo soil or make dirty.
- gunk upTo soil or dirty; to mess up; to clog.
- inquinateTo pollute or make dirty.
- scungeTo mark with scunge; to begrime or besmirch.
- sling mud
- slotterTo make filthy; to foul.
- slurTo soil; to sully; to contaminate; to disgrace.
- smearTo make something dirty.
- smirchTo dirty; to make dirty.
- smudgeTo soil or smear with dirt.
- smutTo stain (or be stained) with soot or other dirt.
- smutchTo soil, stain or smudge.
- soilTo make dirty.
- soss UK, dialectalTo soil; to make dirty.
- spotTo stain; to leave a spot (on).
- stainTo discolor, as by spilling or other contact with a fluid or substance.
- sullowTo sully.
- tarnishTo compromise, damage, soil, or sully.
- adulterate
- corruptTo waste, spoil, or consume; to make worthless.
- debauch
- fileTo defile.
- immoralize
- lead astray
- pervert
- seduce
- sophisticate figuratively
- suborn
- subvert
- unmoralizeTo make immoral or corrupt.
- vitiateTo spoil, make faulty; to reduce the value, quality, or effectiveness of something.
- warp
- assoil obsoleteTo make (something) dirty or soiled; to soil; to stain; to sully.
- bedaub obsoleteTo smear upon; to soil.
- imbrue (especially with blood) archaic, literary
- befile obsoleteTo make filthy; befoul; soil.
- befilth rareTo cover with filth; make filthy; begrime.
- beray archaic, obsoleteTo make foul; befoul; soil.
- bewray archaic, obsoleteTo soil or befoul; to beray.
- blur obsoleteTo smear, stain or smudge.
- foil obsoleteTo blunt; to dull; to spoil.
- sowl obsoleteTo soil or stain; to dirty.
- uggle UK, dialectalTo make dirty.
- demoralize dated
- detort dated
- preposterate obsolete
- tamper dated
verbTo make unfit for use by the introduction of unwholesome or undesirable elements.
- marTo spoil; to ruin; to scathe; to damage.
- mess up
- ruinTo upset or overturn the plans or progress of, or to have a disastrous effect on something.
- blightTo impede the development or growth of (an aspect of life); to damage, to ruin, to spoil.
- bumble
- botchTo perform (a task) in an incompetent or unacceptable manner; to make a mess of something.
- bugger up vulgar
- bungleTo incompetently perform (a task); to ruin (something) through incompetent action; to botch up, to bumble.
- crab slang
- depraveTo make bad or worse; to vitiate; to corrupt.
- disrupt
- disturb
- fuck up vulgar
- jack up vulgar
- mishandle
- mommick US, dialectalTo mess up; to bungle or ruin by bungling.
- put a crimp in
- screw up vulgar
- sour
- spoil
- undo literary
- upset
- turn upside down
- upset the applecartTo disorganize or spoil something, especially an established arrangement or plan.
- ball up dated, slangTo ruin or botch.
- queer dated, slang
Meaning of contaminate
- verb To make something dangerous or toxic by introducing impurities or foreign matter.
- verb To soil, stain, corrupt, or infect by contact or association.
- verb To make unfit for use by the introduction of unwholesome or undesirable elements.
contaminate in other languages
Questions about synonyms of contaminate
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: contaminate (page history and authors) and the entries of the words listed. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws grouped the synonyms and antonyms by meaning and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Cite this page: “Synonyms of contaminate.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/synonyms/contaminate. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.