Kenneth G. Wilson (1923–). The Columbia Guide to Standard American English. 1993.
pollute (v.), pollution (n.)
These words are rapidly becoming overused, thanks to our growing concern over what we have done to our air, water, and earth. The literal sense of pollute is “to make unclean, or impure” or “to contaminate, defile, or dirty,” and all these invite figurative uses applied to any and all things that disgust or anger us. The literal senses of pollute and pollution are sufficiently varied to warrant our trying to protect them from the wear and tear of figurative overuse. Noise pollution and polluting the thoughts of the young or the processes of government are graphic figurative uses, but they’re becoming worn.
