Industrial runoff can contaminate nearby rivers, threatening the safety of drinking water supplies.
工业径流会污染附近的河流，威胁饮用水供应的安全。
Which choice best defines “contaminate”?
D — Make dirty or impure. “contaminate” means make dirty or impure.
Which word means “make dirty or impure”?
A — contaminate. “contaminate” means make dirty or impure.
contaminate — make dirty or impure. In Chinese: 污染，弄脏.
contaminate is pronounced /kənˈtæmɪneɪt/.
Industrial runoff can contaminate nearby rivers, threatening the safety of drinking water supplies. (工业径流会污染附近的河流，威胁饮用水供应的安全。)
pollute, taint, soil — all close in meaning to contaminate (make dirty or impure).
purify, cleanse — each the opposite of contaminate (make dirty or impure).
Yes. contaminate is on the SAT Prep Basic list — the everyday academic words the SAT assumes you already have. The Digital SAT does not test vocabulary in isolation; words like this one are tested through Words in Context questions, where you choose the word that completes a passage most logically and precisely.
con(common)+tam(contact)