contamination

noun kohn-tah-mee-nah-SYOHN Rare

Origin: Latin contaminatio

Usage Note

Contamination covers biological, chemical, and figurative pollution. Une contamination bactérienne is bacterial contamination; contamination linguistique refers to language interference between two systems. The related verb is contaminer. It is often used in public health contexts.

Examples

"La contamination de l'eau était dangereuse."

Natural Translation

The water contamination was dangerous.

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