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GRE vocabulary

adulterate

verbHigh-frequency wordMore A words

to make impure by adding inferior or harmful substances

Word origin: From Latin adulterare, to corrupt or falsify.

In a sentence

Adulterate in a sentence

Here are example sentences showing adulterate in a sentence.

The merchant was caught adulterating the olive oil with cheaper blends.

Regulators discovered that the supplier had adulterated the olive oil with cheaper seed oils.

Synonyms
contaminatedilutetaint
Antonyms
purifyrefinecleanse
Usage & nuance

Using “adulterate” well

Adulterate means to debase a substance by mixing in something inferior or harmful, with a strongly negative connotation of corruption. Do not confuse it with adultery; the words share a Latin root but differ entirely in meaning.

Common questions

Questions about “adulterate

Adulterate (verb) means to make impure by adding inferior or harmful substances
Here is adulterate used in an example sentence: "The merchant was caught adulterating the olive oil with cheaper blends." Another example: "Regulators discovered that the supplier had adulterated the olive oil with cheaper seed oils."
Common synonyms for adulterate include contaminate, dilute, taint.
Antonyms of adulterate include purify, refine, cleanse.
Adulterate clusters with contaminate, dilute, and taint in Sentence Equivalence. Its antonyms purify, refine, and cleanse signal restoration to a pure state.
Yes. Adulterate is a high-frequency GRE word, so it is worth prioritising as you build your vocabulary.

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