mindmap root((污染)) contaminate implies intrusion of or contact with dirt or foulness from an outside source: water ~d by industrial wastes. taint stresses the loss of purity or cleanliness that follows contamination: the scandal ~ed the rest of his political career. pollute sometimes interchangeable with contaminate, may imply that the process which begins with contamination is complete and that what was pure or clean has been made foul, poisoned, or filthy: ~d the waters of the lake, so that it became in parts no better than an open cesspool. defile implies befouling of what could or should have been kept clean and pure or held sacred and suggests violation or desecration: ~ a hero's memory with slanderous inuendo.