# pollutant vs polluting

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### pollutant
*noun · IPA /pəˈl(j)uːtənt/ · frequency rank #42,344*
A foreign substance that makes something dirty, or impure, especially waste from human activities.

### polluting
*adjective · frequency rank #26,554*
Causing pollution; having a tendency to pollute.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pollutant-vs-polluting