What does unadulterated mean?
Unadulterated describes something that is pure, unaltered, and free from additives, dilution, contamination, or other forms of adulteration. Its literal uses include food, drink, chemicals, and medicines, as in a claim that an extract is unadulterated by sugar or preservatives. Figuratively, it describes something regarded as genuine, pure, or free from artificiality: an unadulterated landscape, an unadulterated sense of justice, or an unadulterated moment of pleasure. The word is more formal and emphatic than ordinary alternatives such as pure or unaltered, and it may suggest both material integrity and moral authenticity. Its long history in law and commerce matters because adulterating a product meant mixing, diluting, or falsifying it, so “unadulterated” carries an emphatic promise that nothing extra has been added and nothing essential has been taken away. For that reason, it remains especially effective in labels, criticism, and literary description.
adjectiveFree from added, diluted, contaminated, or otherwise altered substances; pure and in its original condition.
- Not containing additives, substitutes, impurities, or other foreign material; pure and undiluted.
- Figuratively, genuine, unaltered, and free from artificiality or corruption.
"The label emphasizes that the juice is unadulterated by added sugar or preservatives."
"The laboratory tested the sample to determine whether the extract remained unadulterated."
"For one unadulterated afternoon, they left the city and wandered along the coast."
From “adulterated,” meaning mixed, diluted, or falsified, “unadulterated” makes the emphatic promise that nothing has slipped in.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does unadulterated come from?
Unadulterated was formed in the early modern period from the prefix un- and the adjective adulterated. Its base word comes through Latin adulteratus, the past participle of adulterare, meaning to adulterate, mix, or make impure. English had already borrowed adulterate and adulteration in this period, reflecting the word's longstanding legal and commercial associations with mixing or falsifying substances.
How unadulterated is actually used
Formal and emphatic. It is commonly used of food, ingredients, extracts, medicines, and products, while figurative uses can convey authenticity, moral integrity, or an idealized absence of artificiality.
Easily confused with unadulterated
Adulterated means mixed, diluted, contaminated, or otherwise altered, whereas unadulterated means free from such additions or alterations.