Question 1 · Quick check
pollution
/pəˈljuːʃən/
noun
Türkçe translations
Translating…
In plain English
- 01
noun
Harmful substances that make air, water, or land dirty.
- 02
noun
Extra detailSomething that pollutes; a pollutant.
Examples
Because of the problem of air pollution, the bicycle may some day replace the automobile.
Environmental pollution is causing abnormal weather conditions.
At a glance
Sits at B1 on the CEFR scale
- Senses
- 5
- Parts of speech
- 1
- Citations
- 5
- Synonyms
- 5
Also pronounced
- /pəˈluːʃən/
Deep Dive
noun
Extra meaningsThe desecration of something holy or sacred; defilement, profanation.
Physical contamination, now especially the contamination of the environment by harmful substances, or by disruptive levels of noise, light etc.
Moral or spiritual corruption; impurity, degradation, defilement.
More examples
In contextWe are taking steps to prevent pollution.
Pollution levels are almost always higher in cities rather than the countryside, what with the cars, industry and so on.
Schools across the country are moving to ban the school run amid growing concern about the devastating impact of air pollution on young people’s health.
Related
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Nearby
Origin
noun
From Middle English pollucioun, pollucion (“desecration, impurity”), from Anglo-Norman pollutiun, Middle French pollution, pollucion, and their source, post-classical Latin pollūtiō (“defilement, desecration; nocturnal emission”) (4th century), from the participial stem of polluō (“to soil, defile, contaminate”), from por- (“before”) + -luō (“to smear”), related to lutum (“mud”) and luēs (“filth”). Compare Ancient Greek λῦμα (lûma, “filth, dirt, disgrace”) and λῦμαξ (lûmax, “rubbish, refuse”), Old Irish loth (“mud, dirt”), Lithuanian lutynas (“pool, puddle”).