What term means to soil, stain, corrupt, or infect by contact or association?

What term means to soil, stain, corrupt, or infect by contact or association?

• A. Pollute
• B. Contaminate
• C. Defile
• D. Spoil

Answer: (B)

Contaminate is the word that fits this sense precisely. To contaminate means to make something impure by contact or exposure, or to infect it with something harmful through association. That captures both the impurity and the infection ideas you see in the definition—soil, stain, or corrupt by touching or coming into contact with something else. Pollute is related but broader, often about introducing pollutants into the environment. Defile carries a moral or sacred impurity nuance, and spoil usually means ruin or decay rather than the specific idea of impurity through contact or infection.

Contaminate is the word that fits this sense precisely. To contaminate means to make something impure by contact or exposure, or to infect it with something harmful through association. That captures both the impurity and the infection ideas you see in the definition—soil, stain, or corrupt by touching or coming into contact with something else.

Pollute is related but broader, often about introducing pollutants into the environment. Defile carries a moral or sacred impurity nuance, and spoil usually means ruin or decay rather than the specific idea of impurity through contact or infection.