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pollutant

noun

  1. substance or energy source damaging to the environment
L44104 on Wikidata ↗

Wiktionary

Pronunciation: /pəˈl(j)uːtənt/

noun

Etymology: Etymology tree English pollute Proto-Indo-European *-onts Latin -ns Latin -āns Old French -antbor. Proto-Indo-European *-onts Proto-Germanic *-ndz Proto-West Germanic *-andī Old English -ende Middle English -ant English -ant English pollutant From pollute + -ant.

  1. A foreign substance that makes something dirty, or impure, especially waste from human activities.

    Acid rain forms when water in the atmosphere condenses on particles containing acid-forming pollutants, such as sulfate produced by the burning of fossil fuels and nitrogen oxides from automobile exhausts.