What does adulterate mean?
To adulterate is to render something impure or inferior by mixing it with another substance, typically for gain or through negligence. The word applies most often to consumables: milk may be adulterated with water, spices with cheaper fillers, and precious metals with baser alloys. In law and commerce, adulteration of food and drugs is a serious offence, which gives the term a formal, regulatory flavour. It can also be used figuratively to describe the corruption of something intangible — a tradition, a language, or an artistic work degraded by foreign or unworthy additions. The verb derives from the Latin adulterare, meaning to pollute or falsify, sharing its root with 'adultery'. Its derivatives include 'adulteration', 'adulterant', and 'adulterated'. Because it implies deliberate debasement rather than accidental contamination, the word carries a distinctly pejorative tone, making it a precise choice when one wishes to condemn the lowering of quality or integrity.
verbTo make something impure or of poorer quality by adding another substance to it; to corrupt or debase something by introducing inferior or foreign elements.
- To make a substance impure or inferior by adding another substance to it.
- (Figurative) To corrupt or debase something abstract, such as a text, tradition, or ideal.
"The merchant was fined for selling milk adulterated with water."
"Inspectors discovered that the spice vendor had been adulterating turmeric with brick dust."
"Critics argued that the film adaptation adulterated the novel's original vision."
The same Latin root that gave us 'adultery' gave us 'adulterate' — both mean mixing in something that doesn't belong.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of adulterate
Adulterate comes from the Latin adulterare, meaning to pollute, falsify, or corrupt, itself derived from adulter, meaning an adulterer. The root ultimately relates to the Latin alter, meaning 'other', suggesting the idea of introducing something foreign. English adopted the verb in the early modern period, and it shares this origin with 'adultery', 'adulterous', and 'adulteress', all of which preserve the sense of improper mixture or corruption.
Related word forms
How adulterate is actually used
Formal register, common in legal, regulatory, and scientific contexts concerning food, drugs, and consumer products. The figurative use carries a strongly negative connotation of corruption or degradation.
Easily confused with adulterate
An adulterer is a person who commits adultery, whereas to adulterate is to make a substance impure — the two share a Latin root but differ entirely in meaning.
An adult is a grown person; 'adulterate' merely begins with the same letters and has no connection in meaning.