Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

contamination

/kənˌtæm.əˈneɪ.ʃən/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: 3.70 in modern English

Syllables: con-tam-i-na-tion
IPA: /kənˌtæm.əˈneɪ.ʃən/

17

Scrabble Score

13

Letters

5

Syllables

7

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

The act or process of contaminating.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

Something which contaminates.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

A process whereby words with related meanings come to have similar sounds.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

The influence of one form (often from a foreign language) on the historical development of another form to which it may be related in meaning.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

The intermingling of readings from multiple sources by a copyist.

Countable; Uncountable

Etymology

From Latin contāminātiōnem.

Origin

Source language: Latin

Word Breakdown

Root: contāminātiō

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /kənˌtæm.əˈneɪ.ʃən/
British English: /kənˌtæm.ɪˈneɪ.ʃən/

Usage

Inflected Forms

contaminations (plural)

Derived Forms

anticontamination biocontamination decontamination microcontamination noncontamination radiocontamination recontamination xenocontamination

Phrases

cross-contamination

Synonyms

pollution defilement taint adulterant contaminant impurity pollutant sophisticant adulterator contamination contaminator adulteration

Antonyms

conservation decontamination distillation purification

Rhymes With

information education situation population station association administration operation organization nation location application

Questions

How do you pronounce contamination?: The recorded pronunciation is /kənˌtæm.əˈneɪ.ʃən/.
What does contamination mean?: The act or process of contaminating.
Where does contamination come from?: It is traced to Latin.

How to pronounce contamination

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “contamination”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/kənˌtæm.əˈneɪ.ʃən/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “contamination”.
Repeat and practice — Say “contamination” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.