contamination
/kənˌtæm.əˈneɪ.ʃən/noun
contamination is spelled C-O-N-T-A-M-I-N-A-T-I-O-N: 13 letters and 5 syllables. It appears 5.0 times per million words in written English, the 11,198th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, contamination means “The act or process of contaminating” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of contamination is contaminations.
How many letters and syllables are in contamination?
| Letters | 13: C-O-N-T-A-M-I-N-A-T-I-O-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 5 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 5.0 times per million words; the 11,198th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is contamination?
Contamination appears 5.0 times per million words in written English, the 11,198th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce contamination?
- UK /kənˌtæm.ɪˈneɪ.ʃən/
- UK /kənˌtæm.əˈneɪ.ʃən/
- US /kənˌtæm.əˈneɪ.ʃən/
Contamination has 5 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-contamination.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Simplificationalizer-contamination.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with contamination?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as contamination from its last stressed vowel (/eɪʃən/):
- situation
- association
- population
- administration
- operation
- organization
- application
- location
- generation
- foundation
- conversation
- investigation
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of contamination
- contaminations plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does contamination mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The act or process of contaminating.
- 2
Something which contaminates.
- 3
A process whereby words with related meanings come to have similar sounds.
- 4
The influence of one form (often from a foreign language) on the historical development of another form to which it may be related in meaning.
- 5
The intermingling of readings from multiple sources by a copyist.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Contamination in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense the act or process of contaminating:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | contamination |
| German | Verunreinigung, Verseuchung, Kontamination |
| Portuguese | contaminação |
| Spanish | contaminación |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does contamination come from?
From Latin contāminātiōnem.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).