as in cleaning
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 decontaminating
Radiation protection personnel allegedly responded to the incident quickly, pulling the worker from the water and decontaminating him safely.
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Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 24 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for decontaminating
Verb
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Use acetone only as a last resort, test first, then finish by cleaning with mild soapy water.—
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Each tank holds 40 liters, and each cleaning cycle uses roughly one liter of water per pair of shoes.—
Verb
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Maduro complemented the repressive apparatus by purging institutions of anyone who dared dissent.—
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The task of purging your closet of unwanted or outdated items to make more space can be a nightmare.—
Verb
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Neutrality allowed the nation to build strength, expand westward, and avoid the ideological contagions sweeping the continent.—
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The administration would need to individually impose tariffs on each country and for each specific commodity, rather than the sweeping tariffs as were levied under the IEEPA.—
Cite this Entry
“Decontaminating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/decontaminating. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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