adulterate — adulterate, sophisticate, load, weight, doctor mean to alter fraudulently especially for profit. Adulterate, the usual and technical term, especially when used with reference to foodstuffs and drugs, implies either the admixture of ingredients of … New Dictionary of Synonyms
adulterate — adul·ter·ate /ə dəl tə ˌrāt/ vt at·ed, at·ing: to corrupt, debase, or make impure by the addition of a foreign or inferior substance or element; esp: to prepare for sale by omitting a valuable ingredient or by replacing more valuable ingredients… … Law dictionary
Adulterate — A*dul ter*ate, v. i. To commit adultery. [Obs.] [1913 Webster] … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
Adulterate — A*dul ter*ate, a. 1. Tainted with adultery. [1913 Webster] 2. Debased by the admixture of a foreign substance; adulterated; spurious. [1913 Webster] {A*dul ter*ate*ly}, adv. {A*dul ter*ate*ness}, n. [1913 Webster] … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
adulterate — (v.) 1530s, back formation from adulteration, or else from L. adulteratus, pp. of adulterare to falsify, corrupt, also to commit adultery (see ADULTERATION (Cf. adulteration)). Earlier verb was adulter (late 14c.). Related: Adulterated;… … Etymology dictionary
adulterate — [v] alter or debase, often for profit alloy, amalgamate, attenuate, blend, cheapen, commingle, contaminate, cook, corrupt, cut*, defile, degrade, denature, depreciate, deteriorate, devalue, dilute, dissolve, doctor*, doctor up*, falsify, impair,… … New thesaurus
adulterate — ► VERB ▪ make poorer in quality by adding another substance. DERIVATIVES adulterant adjective adulteration noun. ORIGIN Latin adulterare to corrupt … English terms dictionary
adulterate — [ə dul′tər āt΄; ] for adj. [, ə dul′tər it] vt. adulterated, adulterating [< L adulteratus, pp. of adulterare, to falsify < adulter, an adulterer, counterfeiter < ad , to + alter, other, another] to make inferior, impure, not genuine,… … English World dictionary
adulterate — UK [əˈdʌltəreɪt] / US [əˈdʌltəˌreɪt] verb [transitive] Word forms adulterate : present tense I/you/we/they adulterate he/she/it adulterates present participle adulterating past tense adulterated past participle adulterated to make a substance… … English dictionary
adulterate — adulterator, n. v. /euh dul teuh rayt /; adj. /euh dul teuhr it, teuh rayt /, v., adulterated, adulterating, adj. v.t. 1. to debase or make impure by adding inferior materials or elements; use cheaper, inferior, or less desirable goods in the… … Universalium
