different between deteriorate vs contaminate

English

Etymology

From Late Latin d?terior?tus, past participle of Late Latin d?terior?, derivative of Latin d?terior (“worse”)

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /d??t??????e?t/

Verb

deteriorate (third-person singular simple present deteriorates, present participle deteriorating, simple past and past participle deteriorated)

1. (transitive) To make worse; to make inferior in quality or value; to impair.

   to deteriorate the mind

   • 1829, Robert Southey, Sir Thomas More; or, Colloquies on the Progress and Prospects of Society

     The art of war, like every other art, ecclesiastical architecture alone excepted, was greatly deteriorated during those years of general degradation […]

2. (intransitive) To grow worse; to be impaired in quality; to degenerate.

Synonyms

• worsen
• to go off (of foods)
• nerf (gaming term)
• degenerate
• weaken

Antonyms

• ameliorate
• better
• improve
• revamp

Related terms

• deterioration
• deteriorative
• deteriorable

Translations

Italian

Adjective

deteriorate

1. feminine plural of deteriorato

Verb

deteriorate

1. second-person plural present indicative of deteriorare
2. second-person plural imperative of deteriorare
3. feminine plural of deteriorato

English

Etymology

From Old French contaminer, from Latin contaminare (“to touch together, blend, mingle, corrupt, defile”), from contamen (“contact, defilement, contagion”), related to tangere.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /k?n?tæm?ne?t/

Verb

contaminate (third-person singular simple present contaminates, present participle contaminating, simple past and past participle contaminated)

1. (transitive) To make something dangerous or toxic by introducing impurities or foreign matter.

2. (transitive) To soil, stain, corrupt, or infect by contact or association.
   • I would neither have simplicity imposed upon, nor virtue contaminated.
3. (transitive) To make unfit for use by the introduction of unwholesome or undesirable elements.

4. To infect, often with bad objects

Related terms

• contaminable
• contamination
• contaminative

Translations

Further reading

• contaminate in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• contaminate in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• contaminate at OneLook Dictionary Search

Italian

Verb

contaminate

1. second-person plural present of contaminare
2. second-person plural imperative of contaminare
3. feminine plural past participle of contaminare

Latin

Verb

cont?min?te

1. second-person plural present active imperative of cont?min?