contamination

English

Pronunciation

(Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /kənˌtæm.ɪˈneɪ.ʃən/
- Audio (Southern England): (file)
(General American) IPA^(key): /kənˌtæm.əˈneɪ.ʃən/, [kənˌɾ̃æm.əˈneɪ.ʃən]
- Audio (New Jersey): (file)
(General Australian) IPA^(key): /kənˌtæm.ɪˈnæɪ.ʃən/
Rhymes: -eɪʃən

Noun

contamination (countable and uncountable, plural contaminations)

The act or process of contaminating.
Synonyms: pollution, defilement, taint
Something which contaminates.
(linguistics) A process whereby words with related meanings come to have similar sounds.
(linguistics, etymology) The influence of one form (often from a foreign language) on the historical development of another form to which it may be related in meaning.
The process of making a material or surface unclean or unsuited for its intended purpose, usually by the addition or attachment of undesirable foreign substances.

Derived terms

cross-contamination

Translations

the act or process of contaminating

Bulgarian: замърсяване (bg) n (zamǎrsjavane)
Catalan: contaminació (ca) f
Chinese:
Mandarin: 污染 (zh) (wūrǎn)
Czech: znečištění n, kontaminace f
Dutch: verontreiniging (nl) f, contaminatie (nl) f
Esperanto: kontaminado, kontamino
Finnish: saastuminen (fi), pilaantuminen (fi), saastuttaminen (fi)
French: contamination (fr) f
German: Verunreinigung (de) f; Verseuchung f, Kontamination (de) f (poison or pathogen)
Hungarian: (act) szennyezés (hu), beszennyezés (hu), (process) szennyeződés (hu), beszennyeződés, elszennyeződés (hu), (state) szennyezettség (hu), kontamináció (hu), fertőzöttség (hu)
Interlingua: contamination
Italian: contaminazione (it)
Japanese: 汚染 (ja) (おせん, osen), コンタミネーション (ja) (kontaminēshon)
Luxembourgish: Verseuchung f, Kontaminatioun f
Macedonian: загаду́вање n (zagadúvanje)
Maltese: kontaminazzjoni f
Mongolian: халдвар (mn) (xaldvar)
Navajo: iʼniiyą́ą́ʼ
Piedmontese: contaminassion f
Polish: skażenie (pl) n
Portuguese: contaminação (pt) f
Romanian: contaminare (ro) f
Russian: загрязне́ние (ru) n (zagrjaznénije)
Scottish Gaelic: truailleadh m
Spanish: contaminación (es) f

something which contaminates — see pollutant

a process whereby words with related meanings come to have similar sounds; blend, portmanteau (word) — see also portmanteau word

Catalan: contaminació (ca) f
Czech: kontaminace f
Dutch: contaminatie (nl) f
Finnish: sanasekauma
Interlingua: contamination
Japanese: コンタミネーション (ja) (kontaminēshon)
Macedonian: контамина́ција f (kontaminácija)
Polish: kontaminacja f
Russian: контамина́ция (ru) f (kontaminácija)
Ukrainian: контаміна́ція f (kontaminácija)

linguistics, etymology: the influence of one form (often from a foreign language) on the historical development of another form to which it may be related in meaning