impurity; foreign substance; something mixed in
Refers to an unwanted or unintended substance mixed into something else, such as a contaminant or adulterant. Often used in contexts like food, materials, or data.
This flour might contain impurities.
If there are foreign elements in the data, the analysis results won't come out correctly.
Compound of 混ざり (continuative form of 混ざる, 'to be mixed') + 物 ('thing'). The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the word follows a common pattern for nouns describing a mixed-in substance.