English Explanatory Dictionary

pollution

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. Physical contamination, now especially the contamination of the environment by harmful substances, or by disruptive levels of noise, light etc.
  2. Something that pollutes; a pollutant.
  3. The desecration of something holy or sacred; defilement, profanation.
  4. The ejaculation of semen outside of sexual intercourse, especially a nocturnal emission.
  5. Moral or spiritual corruption; impurity, degradation, defilement.

Pronunciation

/pəˈljuːʃən/ /pəˈluːʃən/ /pəˈluʃən/ En-uk-pollution.ogg

Word forms

pollution pollutions

Etymology

From Middle English pollucioun, pollucion (“desecration, impurity”), from Anglo-Norman pollutiun, Middle French pollution, pollucion, and their source, post-classical Latin pollūtiō (“defilement, desecration; nocturnal emission”) (4th century), from the participial stem of polluō (“to soil, defile, contaminate”), from por- (“before”) + -luō (“to smear”), related to lutum (“mud”) and luēs (“filth”). Compare Ancient Greek λῦμα (lûma, “filth, dirt, disgrace”) and λῦμαξ (lûmax, “rubbish, refuse”), Old Irish loth (“mud, dirt”), Lithuanian lutynas (“pool, puddle”).

Synonyms

defedation defilement soilage adulteration contamination pollution sophistication adulterant contaminant impurity sophisticant adulterator contaminator pollutant taint debasement debauchment perversion abasement corruption depravation depravement impurification profanation baseness degeneracy degradation depravedness depravity iniquity lewdity malignity misdoing misguilt obliquity peccability pravity sin sinfulness turpitude vitiation wickedness wrongdoing

Antonyms

conservation purity

Related words

polluter

Derived words

agropollution air pollution antipollution biopollution electropollution genetic pollution hydropollution light pollution nocturnal pollution noise pollution nonpollution overpollution photopollution pollutician pollutional pollutionary pollution-free pollutionist pollutionless pollution permit system self-pollution soil pollution underpollution visual pollution water pollution
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