as in cleaned
to remove dirty or dangerous substances (such as radioactive material) from (a person, thing, place, etc.)
Special workers were called in to decontaminate the area after the oil spill.
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Recent Examples of decontaminated
Sergei Skripal’s home, the area surrounding the bench where the pair was found, the home of a detective who fell ill, and two ambulance stations had to be decontaminated, along with the restaurant and pub.
—
Nick Tabor, Encyclopedia Britannica, 29 Apr. 2026
Penny and Ghazarian hired their own industrial hygienist, who concluded the property needed to be decontaminated of heavy metals and other combustion by-products.
—Tony Saavedra, Daily News, 5 Mar. 2026
The sheriff's office says first responders were decontaminated at the hospital.
—Dejanay Booth-Singleton, CBS News, 18 Feb. 2026
Afterward, the animals were decontaminated and bathed, and those who experienced the most inhalation are being supervised at a veterinary clinic, Halverson said.
—Melina Khan, USA Today, 15 Sep. 2025
Has been contaminated due to methamphetamine and the owner has not appealed or decontaminated the property within 90 days.
—Jolene Almendarez, Cincinnati Enquirer, 18 June 2025
Nick Tabor, Encyclopedia Britannica, 29 Apr. 2026
Penny and Ghazarian hired their own industrial hygienist, who concluded the property needed to be decontaminated of heavy metals and other combustion by-products.
—Tony Saavedra, Daily News, 5 Mar. 2026
The sheriff's office says first responders were decontaminated at the hospital.
—Dejanay Booth-Singleton, CBS News, 18 Feb. 2026
Afterward, the animals were decontaminated and bathed, and those who experienced the most inhalation are being supervised at a veterinary clinic, Halverson said.
—Melina Khan, USA Today, 15 Sep. 2025
Has been contaminated due to methamphetamine and the owner has not appealed or decontaminated the property within 90 days.
—Jolene Almendarez, Cincinnati Enquirer, 18 June 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for decontaminated
Verb
-
The Angels have been on a road trip all week but a team spokesman said Tuesday that the stand has been cleaned and will be reinspected ahead of a homestand that begins Friday against the New York Mets.—
Steve Henson,
Los Angeles Times,
28 Apr. 2026
-
The Hyundai, when detectives looked at it, appeared to have been recently cleaned, according to the court document.—
Dan Sullivan,
The Orlando Sentinel,
27 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The last time was in 1962, when the Philadelphia Phillies swept the expansion Mets at the Polo Grounds.—
Tim Britton,
New York Times,
27 Apr. 2026
-
New York has lost 15 of its last 17 games after getting swept 3-1 and 3-0 in a doubleheader Sunday by the Colorado Rockies, a 119-game loser last year.—
Ronald Blum,
Chicago Tribune,
27 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Wang and his colleagues purged 382 isoleucine residues from ribosomal proteins, but the rest of its genome still contains more than 81,000 isoleucine residues across thousands of other proteins.—
Jacek Krywko,
Scientific American,
30 Apr. 2026
-
Roenicke never had a chance, taking over a team that would soon go on a salary dump that purged Betts, the 2018 AL MVP, along with 2012 AL Cy Young Award winner David Price.—
Jimmy Golen,
Chicago Tribune,
26 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Decontaminated.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/decontaminated. Accessed 2 May. 2026.
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