DEFILE Synonyms: 132 Similar and Opposite Words

Q: How does the verb 'defile' contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of defile are contaminate , pollute , and taint . While all these words mean "to make impure or unclean," defile implies befouling of what could or should have been kept clean and pure or held sacred and commonly suggests violation or desecration. // defile a hero's memory with slanderous innuendo

Q: When is 'contaminate' a more appropriate choice than 'defile'?

The meanings of contaminate and defile largely overlap; however, contaminate implies intrusion of or contact with dirt or foulness from an outside source. // water contaminated by industrial wastes

Q: When is it sensible to use 'pollute' instead of 'defile'?

While in some cases nearly identical to defile , pollute , sometimes interchangeable with contaminate , distinctively may imply that the process which begins with contamination is complete and that what was pure or clean has been made foul, poisoned, or filthy. // the polluted waters of the river

Q: When could 'taint' be used to replace 'defile'?

The synonyms taint and defile are sometimes interchangeable, but taint stresses the loss of purity or cleanliness that follows contamination. // tainted meat // a politician's tainted reputation

defile 1 of 2

noun

di-ˈfī(-ə)l

Definition of defile

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

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defile

2 of 2

verb

di-ˈfī(-ə)l

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

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

Synonym Chooser

How does the verb defile contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of defile are contaminate, pollute, and taint. While all these words mean "to make impure or unclean," defile implies befouling of what could or should have been kept clean and pure or held sacred and commonly suggests violation or desecration.

defile a hero's memory with slanderous innuendo

When is contaminate a more appropriate choice than defile?

The meanings of contaminate and defile largely overlap; however, contaminate implies intrusion of or contact with dirt or foulness from an outside source.

water contaminated by industrial wastes

When is it sensible to use pollute instead of defile?

While in some cases nearly identical to defile, pollute, sometimes interchangeable with contaminate, distinctively may imply that the process which begins with contamination is complete and that what was pure or clean has been made foul, poisoned, or filthy.

the polluted waters of the river

When could taint be used to replace defile?

The synonyms taint and defile are sometimes interchangeable, but taint stresses the loss of purity or cleanliness that follows contamination.

tainted meat

a politician's tainted reputation

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of defile

Noun

In the right of the picture, a platoon of soldiers, heavily armed and preceded by a pair of gun carriages, tramp through a defile. — Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 25 Apr. 2025 Navarette Romero, a Honduran national, was found with some of the victim's belongings, the chief said, and he was charged with abduction with intent to defile and rape. — Yaakov Katz, Newsweek, 28 Nov. 2024

Verb

The Tesla’s desecration follows a vandalism spree in Queens that saw religious centers, homes and vehicles defiled with swastikas and antisemitic slogans last month. — Barry Williams, New York Daily News, 26 June 2026 This is a constitutional failure by Congress defiling the Constitution, enabled by a pliable federal judiciary bastardizing the Constitution, and the presidency ignoring the Constitution. — Kaitlyn Schallhorn, Oc Register, 5 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for defile

Recent Examples of Synonyms for defile

Noun

When the sun goes down, the wind picks up in central New Mexico, whipping through arid canyons with a ghostly howl that for centuries, locals have likened to the wails of the folkloric ghost La Llorona.

— Sara Herschander, Vox, 22 Oct. 2026
There is a pleasant little trail from the test plot that goes through the canyon.

— Jaclyn Cosgrove, Los Angeles Times, 22 Oct. 2026

Definition of canyon

Verb

When those waters are polluted, the damage is not confined to a technical measurement in a permit or a line on a monitoring report.

— Dana Adkins, Washington Post, 23 Oct. 2026
Norway rats can transmit diseases to humans and other animals, damage property, and pollute food.

— Blythe Copeland, Martha Stewart, 17 Oct. 2026

Definition of pollute

Verb

Ossoff said the Israeli military has violated international standards of warfare in Gaza but avoided the question of whether Israel is committing genocide — a charge levied by some on the Democrats’ left flank.

— Bill Barrow, Chicago Tribune, 4 Nov. 2026
In Arizona, voters passed a measure banning the state from installing and using photo enforcement systems (like speed and red-light cameras) to catch people who violate certain traffic ordinances.

— Rachel Treisman, NPR, 4 Nov. 2026

Definition of violate

Noun

Outside, the rocky surfaces of the gorge’s walls alternate between light and shadow while the river glints in the midday sun.

— Sarah Kuta, Condé Nast Traveler, 4 Nov. 2026
For years, a leopard roamed the high mountain ridges and deep gorges in the sparsely populated region of southern Armenia.

— Eric Niiler, New York Times, 30 Oct. 2026

Definition of gorge

Verb

Morison’s followers called themselves Hygeists and attacked physicians as a monopoly that bled and poisoned its patients, which was not inaccurate in the 1830s.

— Jim Downs, STAT, 30 Oct. 2026
Two young men were arraigned Wednesday for fentanyl distribution conspiracy after a student at the Fashion Institute of Technology was fatally poisoned and another nearly died.

— Lisa Rozner, CBS News, 28 Oct. 2026

Definition of poison

Verb

The iron is being brought back to strike at the heart of democracy, to desecrate the altar of the voting booth.

— Seth Limmer, Chicago Tribune, 1 Nov. 2026
The next day, February 9th, Nakira was charged with first-degree murder, endangering the welfare of a child, desecrating human remains, and tampering with physical evidence.

— Anja Aronowsky Cronberg, New Yorker, 24 Oct. 2026

Definition of desecrate

Noun

Plans call for two large dams about 300 feet high, as well as nine smaller ones, holding water pumped from the Sacramento River and inundating about 15,000 acres in a valley northwest of Sacramento.

— Ian James, Los Angeles Times, 5 Nov. 2026
Finally, when the incentives for private investment still do not line up for certain projects, G-7 countries should use public capital to directly help mining companies escape the valley of death.

— Tom Moerenhout, Foreign Affairs, 4 Nov. 2026

Definition of valley

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“Defile.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/defile. Accessed 7 Nov. 2026.

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