as in canyon
a narrow opening between hillsides or mountains that can be used for passage
the cattle, once they were cornered in the defile, were quickly rounded up
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
1
as in to pollute
to make unfit for use by the addition of something harmful or undesirable
supplies of meat that had been defiled by maggots
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to violate
to treat (a sacred place or object) shamefully or with great disrespect
art conservators were careful not to do anything that might defile the holy relic
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of defile
David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 8 July 2024
Amy Baker Harrison was indicted by a Stafford County grand jury on Monday for the first-degree murder of Jacqueline Lard, as well as abduction with the intent to defile, aggravated malicious wounding and breaking and entering with the intent to commit murder, according to the sheriff’s office.
—Amanda Jackson, CNN, 9 Mar. 2024
Wade Davis, Rolling Stone, 6 Apr. 2025
In the Parsi tradition, the bones are left there to gradually disintegrate over time, completing the return to nature without defiling the earth.
—Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 4 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for defile
Noun
One defiles realism, and the other refuses to let it out of its grip.
—David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 8 July 2024
Amy Baker Harrison was indicted by a Stafford County grand jury on Monday for the first-degree murder of Jacqueline Lard, as well as abduction with the intent to defile, aggravated malicious wounding and breaking and entering with the intent to commit murder, according to the sheriff’s office.
—Amanda Jackson, CNN, 9 Mar. 2024
Verb
The sacred plant, long defiled, heralded, as in the time of the Inca and all the ancient civilizations of the Andes, as a gift of the gods.
—Wade Davis, Rolling Stone, 6 Apr. 2025
In the Parsi tradition, the bones are left there to gradually disintegrate over time, completing the return to nature without defiling the earth.
—Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 4 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for defile
Recent Examples of Synonyms for defile
Noun
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The same button allows the driver to summon V-mode for canyon carving and track days.—
Mark Phelan,
Freep.com,
31 July 2025
-
Excellent guide/driver combos take guests off-roading on geological Big 5 safari drives to see salt flats, geysers at 14,000 feet, canyons and dunes that rival Jordan and Utah, and a string of volcanoes that make this part of Chile one of the most active sites in the world.—
Laura Dannen Redman,
Robb Report,
28 July 2025
Verb
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Flea Treatment Market Is Ripe For Innovation Though safer options exist, companies should innovate to find more solutions that protect our pets without polluting the planet.—
Arlene Blum,
Forbes.com,
31 July 2025
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The other is synthetic, manmade, utilitarian and crumbles within decades but pollutes the environment forever.—
Christian Zilko,
IndieWire,
29 July 2025
Verb
-
The idea of making this sort of gesture, at a time when Texas Republicans are violating the spirit of the rules, is understandably hard for Democrats to consider.—
Colin Pascal,
Baltimore Sun,
16 Aug. 2025
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Any claim or suggestion that Connecticut has violated or is not in compliance with federal law is false.—
Laura Tillman,
Hartford Courant,
16 Aug. 2025
Noun
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However dogs that gorge on cicadas will find their exoskeletons difficult to digest, resulting in an upset stomach, abdominal pain, vomiting and bloody diarrhea.—
Chad Murphy,
The Enquirer,
2 July 2025
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How to Get There: From the Canyon Mouth Day Use Parking Area lot at Little River Falls, take the Little Falls Trail for .75 miles down into the bottom of the gorge.—
Graham Averill,
Outside Online,
20 June 2025
Verb
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But Trump has poisoned those relationships through his intemperate demands and threats.—
Steve Chapman,
Chicago Tribune,
6 Aug. 2025
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The blue tinge of Garrett’s corpse’s finger signals that he was poisoned, though, and this led to the discovery that Garrett’s father had sent him to the Rave’N to poison the outcasts, only the poison vial cracked and leeched into his skin instead.—
Dessi Gomez,
Deadline,
4 Aug. 2025
Verb
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During the French Revolution, Louis XIV’s tomb was desecrated and his remains scattered.—
Helen I. Bennett,
Hartford Courant,
23 July 2025
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Blevins is facing one count of desecrating human remains and another for hindering apprehension in connection with the case.—
Jessica Schladebeck,
New York Daily News,
9 Jan. 2025
Noun
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Most of Camp 25 happened to be spread along the bottom of a ravine.—
Charles Pellegrino,
Rolling Stone,
6 Aug. 2025
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But the armed groups that succeeded him still control huge swathes of the surrounding hills, where the Garcia ravine that claimed Sara Millerey weaves around dusty apartment blocks.—
Ladan Anoushfar,
CNN Money,
6 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Getting permission on a field here will be really tough (maybe impossible), however Haugen says that there are good opportunities for freelance hunting in rivers and sloughs throughout the valley, where ducks roost and loaf.—
Alex Robinson,
Outdoor Life,
6 Aug. 2025
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The Taurus-Littrow valley is littered with massive boulders scattered across steep slopes.—
Sharmila Kuthunur,
Space.com,
4 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Defile.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/defile. Accessed 19 Aug. 2025.
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