Adulterate
/əˈdʌltəˌreɪt/
verbC1
Definition
Adulterate means to mix a good or pure thing with something bad, cheap, or harmful, making the original thing less pure or lower in quality. People often use this word when talking about food or drinks that have been mixed with unsafe or low-quality substances to save money or cheat others.
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See It in Action
To make a pure substance less pure by adding something harmful or cheap
- •The factory was fined for adulterating milk with water.
- •Some sellers adulterate honey with sugar syrup to increase profits.
- •Adulterating medicines can be very dangerous for health.
To spoil or weaken the quality of something by adding inferior parts
- •The company was accused of adulterating their products to cut costs.
- •Adulterating the paint caused it to lose its color and strength.
Make It Stick
- ✓Think of "adulterate" like "mix," but with a bad reason—it makes the original thing worse, not better.
- ✓Picture pure milk being mixed with water to make it less thick and less healthy.
- ✓It's the feeling of disappointment when you find out your favorite juice has something added that shouldn't be there.
- ✓Sounds like "adult-rate" → imagine an adult adding something unwanted to a child's toy, making it less fun.
- ✓In stories, a dishonest merchant might adulterate spices to sell more cheaply but trick customers.
- ✓NOT like "mix" (which can be good or neutral), adulterate always means making something worse by adding bad parts.
- ✓NOT like "improve," adulterate is the opposite: it lowers quality.
- ✓NOT like "contaminate" (which means dirty or poisonous), adulterate usually means mixing in something cheaper or lower quality.
Try Other Words
- •Contaminate: to make dirty or unsafe (Use when the added substance is harmful or poisonous)
- •Dilute: to make thinner or weaker by adding water or another liquid (Use when the focus is on making something less strong, not necessarily dishonest)
- •Pollute: to make dirty, especially in environment (Use for natural places or air/water, less for food or products)
- •Degrade: to reduce quality or value (Use when focusing on lowering quality, not always by mixing)
Unboxing
- •Word parts: "ad-" (to, toward) + "ulter" (from Latin "alter" meaning other) + "-ate" (verb suffix)
- •Etymology: From Latin "adulterare," meaning to corrupt or make impure by mixing
- •Historical development: Used since the 15th century to describe mixing something impure into food or drink
- •Modern usage: Common in law and food safety to describe illegal or harmful mixing that lowers product quality
Reflect & Connect
•Why do you think people adulterate food or products even though it can harm others?
•How can knowing about adulteration help you make safer choices when buying food or medicine?
Fill in the blanks
1.People adulterate milk by adding ___ to make it cheaper but less healthy.
2.Adulterate is different from mix because it always makes something ___ or less pure.
3.When a company adulterates its products, it usually does so to ___ money or reduce costs.
4.Medicines that are adulterated can be ___ and dangerous to health.
5.You can adulterate food by adding something cheap, but you cannot adulterate it by adding something ___.
6.The law punishes those who adulterate food because it ___ people’s trust and safety.
7.If a drink tastes strange, it might have been adulterated with ___ ingredients.