| Principal Translations |
| contaminar⇒ vtr | (medio ambiente: ensuciar) | contaminate⇒, pollute⇒ vtr |
| | La fábrica contaminaba el agua del río. |
| | The factory used to contaminate (or: pollute) the river water. |
| contaminar vtr | (transmitir sustancias extrañas) | contaminate⇒ vtr |
| | (purposefully) | adulterate⇒ vtr |
| | Contaminaron la ensalada al cortar pollo justo al lado y mucha gente enfermó. |
| | They contaminated the salad by cutting chicken close by, and many people got sick. |
| contaminar vtr | figurado (transmitir algo nocivo) | corrupt⇒ vtr |
| | | contaminate⇒, adulterate⇒ vtr |
| | El virus contaminó varias computadoras del gobierno. |
| | Esas revistas contaminan la mente de los adolescentes. |
| | These magazines corrupt the minds of teenagers. |
| contaminarse⇒ v prnl | (medio ambiente: ensuciarse) | become contaminated vi + adj |
| | Debido al incendio de la refinería se contaminó el aire. |
| | The air has become contaminated as a result of the fire at the refinery. |
| contaminarse v prnl | (adquirir sustancias extrañas) | be infected, become infected vi + adj |
| | Los tomates se contaminaron con una bacteria. |
| | La muestra de sangre se contaminó en el laboratorio. |
| | The tomatoes were (or: became) infected with bacteria. |
| contaminarse v prnl | figurado (adquirir algo nocivo) | be contaminated, become contaminated vi + adj |
| | | become tainted, be tainted vi + adj |
| | Los más puristas consideran que la lengua se ha contaminado a causa de la influencia del inglés. |
| | Purists believe that the language has been contaminated by the influence of English. |