contaminate

Compared meaning: to make something dirty or unclean (verb).

比较义项：弄脏、污染（使不洁净）（动词）。

• contaminate 本词

  Emphasizes introducing a harmful or foreign substance (germs, chemicals) into something meant to be clean or safe, often in food, water, or medical contexts; fairly formal.

  强调将有害或外来物质（如细菌、化学品）混入原本清洁或安全的东西中，常用于食品、水源、医疗等语境；语气较正式。

  Improper storage can contaminate the vaccine batch and make it unsafe to use.

  储存不当会污染这批疫苗，使其无法安全使用。

• foul

  Means to make something dirty with waste, dirt, or refuse, often through physical contact; more literal and informal than the others, common with animals or waste.

  指用污物、泥土或垃圾等把某物弄脏，常涉及实际接触；比另外两个词更具体、更口语化，常用于动物或废弃物造成的脏污。

  Geese fouled the schoolyard, forcing the staff to hose down the entrance daily.

  大雁把校园弄得很脏，迫使工作人员每天用水冲洗入口处。

• pollute

  Specifically refers to harming the natural environment (air, water, land) with waste or chemicals; the standard word in ecological and environmental contexts.

  特指用废物或化学物质破坏自然环境（空气、水、土地），是环保和生态语境中的标准用词。

  Old coal plants pollute the air, adding smog to the entire valley.

  老旧的燃煤电厂污染空气，给整个山谷增添了雾霾。

All three mean to make something dirty. Contaminate stresses adding a harmful substance, like germs or chemicals; it sounds formal. Pollute means harming the natural environment. Foul means dirtying something with waste and sounds informal; sports and language senses are not compared here.

这三个词都表示使某物变脏或不洁净，但语境和语气不同：contaminate 强调混入有害物质（如细菌、化学品），常用于食品、水源、医疗等安全语境，语气较正式；pollute 专指对自然环境（空气、水、土地）造成污染，常见于环保语境；foul 强调用污物、垃圾等使物体变脏，语气更口语化、具体。注意 foul 在体育、语言等领域另有“犯规”“脏话”等不在此比较的义项。