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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of adulterate
Matt Robison, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 Apr. 2025
Ground coffee was often about 80 to 90 percent adulterated in the mid-19th century, says Blum.
—Lauren Leffer, Popular Science, 1 May 2025
Acid Red 18 is not allowed, so the product is considered adulterated.
—Thomas G. Moukawsher, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 Apr. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for adulterate
Verb
For years, Vietnamese and Indian exporters have been adulterating honey with cane, rice, and corn sweeteners before dumping it on the U.S. domestic market.
—Matt Robison, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 Apr. 2025
Ground coffee was often about 80 to 90 percent adulterated in the mid-19th century, says Blum.
—Lauren Leffer, Popular Science, 1 May 2025
Acid Red 18 is not allowed, so the product is considered adulterated.
—Thomas G. Moukawsher, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 Apr. 2025
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
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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The supernatural thriller sees a woman return from death as a vindictive spirit to torment her adulterous husband.—
Andreas Wiseman,
Deadline,
26 June 2025
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But with a twist so big — Sarah being the killer of her adulterous husband Adam’s mistress, Kelly Summers, and the one who set him up for the murder while simultaneously defending him tooth and nail in court — where was Rose to go after that?—
Jennifer Maas,
Variety,
29 Apr. 2025
Verb
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If contaminated floodwater is swallowed, or pollutes drinking water, this can lead to gastrointestinal illnesses such as stomach pain, diarrhea, nausea and vomiting.—
ByMary Kekatos,
ABC News,
11 July 2025
-
For decades, biologists have studied how cities affect wildlife by altering food supplies, fragmenting habitats and polluting the environment.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
9 July 2025
Adjective
-
The impeachment trial also saw dramatic testimony about his alleged extramarital affair.—
Melina Khan,
USA Today,
12 July 2025
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Ken Paxton, who has served in his current role since 2015, was impeached in 2023 but later acquitted and faced allegations of corruption and taking part in an extramarital affair.—
Julia Manchester,
The Hill,
11 July 2025
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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To be eligible, applicants must score 32 or better on the ACT and have a high school GPA of at least 3.9, with community service, extracurricular activities and evidence of intellectual curiosity, leadership, and creativity also considered.—
arkansasonline.com,
arkansasonline.com,
7 July 2025
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Those factors can look like children and teenagers not having access to a high-quality education or extracurricular activities like summer camps.—
Katie Langford,
Denver Post,
5 July 2025
Adjective
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The net loss for the first quarter ended May 1 was $8.3 million, or 27 cents per diluted share, which was better than expected.—
David Moin,
Footwear News,
5 June 2025
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The company reported a net loss of $483 million, equivalent to $1 per diluted share.—
Trefis Team,
Forbes.com,
2 June 2025
Adjective
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An investigation determined that she was accidentally exposed to a contaminated batch of melatonin.—
Grace Jordan-Weinstein,
People.com,
12 July 2025
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More serious conditions like infection can also occur if contaminated water enters small cuts or open wounds in the skin, and can progress to sepsis if left untreated.—
ByMary Kekatos,
ABC News,
11 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Adulterate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/adulterate. Accessed 19 Jul. 2025.
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