contamination

English

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /kənˌtæm.ɪˈneɪ.ʃən/

  • Audio (Southern England)

    (file)

• (General American) IPA^(key): /kənˌtæm.əˈneɪ.ʃən/,

  • Audio (New Jersey)

    (file)

• (General Australian) IPA^(key): /kənˌtæm.ɪˈnæɪ.ʃən/
• Rhymes: -eɪʃən

Noun

contamination (countable and uncountable, plural contaminations)

1. The act or process of contaminating.

   Synonyms: pollution, defilement, taint

2. Something which contaminates.
3. (linguistics) A process whereby words with related meanings come to have similar sounds.
4. (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.
5. 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

French

Etymology

From Latin contāminātiōnem.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kɔ̃.ta.mi.na.sjɔ̃/

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

contamination f (plural contaminations)

1. contamination (act or process of contaminating)

Related terms

• contaminer

Further reading

• “contamination”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé , 2012.