adulterate
Verb
- corrupt, debase, or make impure by adding a foreign or inferior substance; often by replacing valuable ingredients with inferior ones
- "adulterate liquor"
- To corrupt, to debase (someone or something).
- To make less valuable or spoil (something) by adding impurities or other substances.
- To commit adultery with (someone).
- To defile (someone) by adultery.
- To commit adultery.
Adjective Satellite
- mixed with impurities
Adj
- Corrupted or made impure by being mixed with something else; adulterated.
- Tending to commit adultery; relating to or being the product of adultery; adulterous.
Examples
- to adulterate coins, drugs, food and drink, etc.
Origin / Etymology
From Latin adulterātus (“adulterate, adulterated, defiled, polluted, counterfeited”), perfect passive participle of adulterō (“to adulterate, defile, commit adultery (with), counterfeit”) (see -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), from ad- (“to, in the direction of”) + alter (“other”) + -ō (verb-forming suffix), literally “to go after someone else”. Equivalent to adultery + -ate.
Synonyms
adulterated, debase, debased, dilute, load, stretch, adulter, sophisticate
Scrabble Score: 11
adulterate: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Wordadulterate: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
adulterate: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary