Definition of "decontaminate" [de•con•tam•i•nate]

• To eliminate contamination in. (verb-transitive)
• To make safe by eliminating poisonous or otherwise harmful substances, such as noxious chemicals or radioactive material. (verb-transitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Thus Mr. Cameron drafted advertising guru Steve Hilton to "decontaminate" its image."
• "Sweden's Fredrik Reinfeldt defeated Sweden's dominant Social Democrats with his "New Moderate" strategy, and he has been an important model for David Cameron, whose strategy has been to "decontaminate" the brand of the British Conservatives by distancing himself from its Thatcherite legacy."
• "Monsters protected by sterile uniforms rush in to "decontaminate" the area."