de|con|tam|i|nate

de|con|tam|i|nate
de|con|tam|i|nate «DEE kuhn TAM uh nayt», transitive verb, -nat|ed, -nat|ing.
1. to make free from poison gas or harmful radioactive agents: »

The reactor had to be extensively decontaminated and reconstructed (Science).

2. to free from any sort of contamination.
3. to remove the secret or sensitive parts of (a classified document) to make its publication harmless: »

It was only when Secretary of Defense Laird refused to decontaminate and declassify the documents for the Foreign Relations Committee that men who had worked on the papers and reporters who had heard about them set out to expose the blunders and the cover-up (James Reston).


Useful english dictionary. 2012.

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  • con|tam|i|nate — «verb. kuhn TAM uh nayt; adjective. kuhn TAM uh nayt, niht», verb, nat|ed, nat|ing, adjective. –v.t. to make impure by contact; defile; pollute: »Filth from the swarming flies contaminated the milk. Drinking water is contaminated when sewage… …   Useful english dictionary

  • re|con|tam|i|nate — «REE kuhn TAM uh nayt», transitive verb, nat|ed, nat|ing. to contaminate again. –re´con|tam´i|na´tion, noun …   Useful english dictionary

  • con·tam·i·nate — …   Useful english dictionary

  • de·con·tam·i·nate — …   Useful english dictionary

  • re´con|tam´i|na´tion — re|con|tam|i|nate «REE kuhn TAM uh nayt», transitive verb, nat|ed, nat|ing. to contaminate again. –re´con|tam´i|na´tion, noun …   Useful english dictionary

  • con — con·acre; con·cat·e·nate; con·cave; con·ceal·er; con·ceit; con·cen·trate; con·cen·tra·tor; con·cen·tric; con·cep·tual; con·cern; con·cern·ing; con·cert; con·cer·tante; con·cer·ti·na; con·ces·sion·ary; con·cha; con·cin·nate; con·com·i·tant;… …   English syllables

  • nate — ace·to·pro·pi·o·nate; ad·nate; ag·mi·nate; al·bu·mi·nate; al·gi·nate; al·loph·a·nate; an·ten·nate; an·ti·mo·nate; ap·pla·nate; ar·se·nate; as·so·nate; bom·bi·nate; cach·in·nate; cal·ci·nate; car·nate; cir·ci·nate; com·mi·nate; com·pag·i·nate;… …   English syllables

  • tam — ban·tam·ize; bim·li·pa·tam; cap·ro·lac·tam; ce·vi·tam·ic; chit·tam; con·tam·i·nant; con·tam·i·na·tion; con·tam·i·na·tive; con·tam·i·na·tor; es·tam·page; es·tam·pie; glu·tam·ic; gua·tam·bu; hep·tam·e·ter; hip·po·po·tam·ic; in·con·tam·i·na·ble;… …   English syllables

  • contaminate — con•tam•i•nate v. [[t]kənˈtæm əˌneɪt[/t]] n., adj. [[t] nɪt, ˌneɪt[/t]] v. nat•ed, nat•ing, n. adj. 1) to make impure or unsuitable by contact or mixture with something unclean, bad, etc.; pollute; taint: to contaminate a lake with sewage[/ex] 2) …   From formal English to slang

  • contaminate — con|tam|i|nate [ kən tæmı,neıt ] verb transitive 1. ) to make something dirty, polluted, or poisonous by adding a chemical, waste, or infection: Industrial sewage continues to contaminate our beaches. 2. ) to affect something or someone in a… …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

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