把有害的東西放進環境
這是字的本義，也是後面兩個比喻的來源：看得見的髒東西進到看得見的地方。
pollute (physically) · verb · B2
to make air, water, or land dirty and unsafe by putting harmful waste into it.
污染
核心畫面
Picture clean water with something harmful poured into it: the water is still there, but it can no longer be drunk, and you cannot take the bad part back out. That is the shape of pollute - something whole and usable is spoiled from the inside by what has been let into it. English then uses the same shape for people and ideas: let the wrong thing in, and what was good stops working the way it did.
可以想成 pollute 的畫面是：乾淨的水裡被倒進了有害的東西——水還在，但已經不能喝了，而且那些髒東西再也撈不出…更多收起
可以想成 pollute 的畫面是：乾淨的水裡被倒進了有害的東西——水還在，但已經不能喝了，而且那些髒東西再也撈不出來。這就是 pollute 的形狀：本來完好、可以用的東西，被放進去的東西從裡面壞掉。英文接著把同一個形狀套到人和想法上——讓不該進來的東西進來了，本來好的就不再是原來那樣。Two branches
把好東西攪壞
把水換成抽象的東西——一件好事、一個人的心。髒東西一旦混進去就分不開了，這正是講「敗壞」時要的那種力道。
taint; corrupt · verb · B2
to spoil something good by mixing it with something bad, such as greed or unfair power.
玷污；敗壞
原始詞典資料5 筆記錄
以下是外部詞典記錄的用法，原文照列，我們還沒有寫成教學內容。上面的說明才是我們自己寫的；有些用法可能上面已經講過了。
polluteverb/pəˈluːt/
- 1
To make something harmful, especially by the addition of some unwanted product.
- The factory polluted the river when it cleaned its tanks.
- 2
To make something or somewhere less suitable for some activity, especially by the introduction of some unnatural factor.
- The lights from the stadium polluted the night sky, and we couldn't see the stars.
- 3
To corrupt or profane
- But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the polluted, as for murderers, fornicators, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their lot shall be in the lake that burns with fire and sulphur, which is the second death.
- 4
To violate sexually; to debauch; to dishonour.
polluteadj/pəˈluːt/
- 1
rarePolluted; defiled.
資料來源：英文維基詞典 English Wiktionary（CC BY-SA 4.0）。 原文照列，未經改寫。