I. əˈdəltəˌrāt, usu -ād.+V verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Latin adulteratus, past participle of adulterare to pollute, defile, commit adultery, from ad- + -ulterare (from alter different, other) — more at else
transitive verb
1.
a. : to corrupt, debase, or make impure by the addition of a foreign or a baser substance : prepare (as for sale) with one or more ingredients included that are not part of the alleged substance
adulterated food
b. : to alter or treat (as an article) especially deceptively in order to give a false value or to hide defects through some method or process not involving the addition of a spurious substance:
(1) : to remove a valuable or necessary ingredient from
adulterating milk by removing the cream
(2) : to sell (a commodity) under the name of another commodity
(3) : to offer as acceptable (what is in reality diseased, infected, or tainted)
(4) : to conceal artificially the defects of
(5) : to cause to simulate a better article
2. : to lessen the full intensity of (as a state of happiness) through the addition of extraneous, incongruous, or discordant elements or through the removal of a vital element : lessen the purity of : make spurious
intransitive verb
obsolete : to commit adultery
II. -ltərə̇t, -l.trə̇t, -ltəˌrāt adjective
Etymology: Latin adulteratus
1. : tainted with adultery : adulterous
a perverse and adulterate generation — H.M.Jones
2. : adulterated, spurious