verschmutzen
Translation
to pollute, to contaminate, to soil, to dirty
Examples
Die Fabrik verschmutzt den Fluss.
The factory pollutes the river.
Pass auf, du verschmutzt dein Hemd!
Watch out, you're getting your shirt dirty!
Grammar Patterns
((sth.)) to pollute/dirty sth. The factory pollutes the river.
Similar Words
Synonyms: verunreinigen (to contaminate), beschmutzen (to soil); Antonyms: reinigen (to clean), säubern (to cleanse)
Etymology
Built from 'ver-' (a prefix often implying something going wrong) + 'Schmutz' (dirt) + '-en' (verb suffix). It means 'to turn to dirt' or 'to cover in dirt'.
Memory Tips
Connects to the Yiddish word 'schmutz' for dirt. The 'ver-' prefix adds the action of making something dirty.