as in contaminated
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1
as in polluted
to make unfit for use by the addition of something harmful or undesirable
supplies of meat that had been defiled by maggots
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2
as in violated
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
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Recent Examples of defiled
Yousra Elbagir, Time, 25 Feb. 2026
As a state legislator, Lincoln stood against slave catchers backed by the federal government who defiled our state’s laws and terrorized our most vulnerable.
—Chicago Tribune, 16 Feb. 2026
The work of love, and the question of what happens when love is absent or defiled, became a central preoccupation.
—Literary Hub, 15 Jan. 2026
Their beautiful sanctuary has been defiled, and Emily is fired.
—Jessica M. Goldstein, Vulture, 18 Dec. 2025
After occupying forces defiled the temple, a small army led by Judah the Maccabee liberated the sanctuary.
—Jose R. Gonzalez, AZCentral.com, 10 Dec. 2025
After recapturing Jerusalem’s holy temple, which had been defiled by the occupiers, the Maccabees searched for pure oil to light the menorah.
—Haadiza Ogwude, Cincinnati Enquirer, 1 Dec. 2025
Friday’s incident isn’t the first time the church has been defiled by a member of the public in recent years.
—Sam Gillette, PEOPLE, 14 Oct. 2025
The seafood area’s ice machine was similarly defiled.
—David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 12 Aug. 2025
Verb
Militia members had ransacked and defiled the house.
—Yousra Elbagir, Time, 25 Feb. 2026
As a state legislator, Lincoln stood against slave catchers backed by the federal government who defiled our state’s laws and terrorized our most vulnerable.
—Chicago Tribune, 16 Feb. 2026
The work of love, and the question of what happens when love is absent or defiled, became a central preoccupation.
—Literary Hub, 15 Jan. 2026
Their beautiful sanctuary has been defiled, and Emily is fired.
—Jessica M. Goldstein, Vulture, 18 Dec. 2025
After occupying forces defiled the temple, a small army led by Judah the Maccabee liberated the sanctuary.
—Jose R. Gonzalez, AZCentral.com, 10 Dec. 2025
After recapturing Jerusalem’s holy temple, which had been defiled by the occupiers, the Maccabees searched for pure oil to light the menorah.
—Haadiza Ogwude, Cincinnati Enquirer, 1 Dec. 2025
Friday’s incident isn’t the first time the church has been defiled by a member of the public in recent years.
—Sam Gillette, PEOPLE, 14 Oct. 2025
The seafood area’s ice machine was similarly defiled.
—David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 12 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for defiled
Adjective
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If exposed, find fresh air, rinse your eyes with room-temperature water for 10 to 15 minutes, remove contaminated clothing, and wash your body with soap and water.—
Mark Gurarie,
Verywell Health,
25 Feb. 2026
-
Mercury exposure in humans, which can affect the brain, cardiovascular and nervous systems, often occurs through consumption of contaminated fish and shellfish.—
Connor Giffin,
Louisville Courier Journal,
20 Feb. 2026
Verb
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If our aquifer becomes massively polluted by cows, the clean water our rural communities and springs rely upon would be put at risk.—
Harper West,
Sun Sentinel,
5 Mar. 2026
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Many of those springs have either stopped flowing, been cut off by development or been polluted.—
Ryan Brennan,
Charlotte Observer,
4 Mar. 2026
Verb
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In January, a judge ruled that the city violated the state’s open meeting law when council members made a plan behind closed doors to sweep 9,800 homeless encampments.—
Noah Goldberg,
Los Angeles Times,
10 Mar. 2026
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In February, for instance, the Department of Justice joined a lawsuit brought by the 1776 Project Foundation, alleging that the Los Angeles Unified School District had violated the law by conditioning funding on the basis of student race.—
Robert Schmad,
The Washington Examiner,
9 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Corruption scandals have brought down several people in Zelensky’s inner circle, including his former business partner Timur Mindich and his long-time right-hand man Andriy Yermak, leading some observers to question whether Zelensky had a tendency to over-rely on tainted allies.—
Ivana Kottasová,
CNN Money,
20 Feb. 2026
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Chinese officials blamed the tainted test results on chemically altered food the athletes had consumed at the time.—
Washington Examiner Staff,
The Washington Examiner,
6 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Nicholas and three of his playmates at the day care were poisoned by the lethal opioid, which the owners stored in a nap room, officials said.—
Sheetal Banchariya,
New York Daily News,
4 Mar. 2026
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Other witnesses could include relatives of the defendant and her late husband, and friends of Eric Richins who have recounted phone conversations from the day prosecutors say he was first poisoned by his wife of nine years.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
23 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Officials determined that a total of 26 underground vaults and mausoleums were broken into or desecrated from November 2025 until the day Gerlach was caught.—
Alexandra Simon,
CBS News,
8 Jan. 2026
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In 1993, White Supremacists in Billings desecrated a Jewish cemetery, sent bomb threats to a synagogue and threw a brick at a menorah in the window of a five-year-old Jewish boy.—
David Goldman,
CNN Money,
16 Dec. 2025
Adjective
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Kanto practitioners believe that women cannot participate because, according to Japan's Shinto religion, women's blood from menstruation and childbirth is considered impure for the purpose of religious rituals.—
Anthony Kuhn,
NPR,
3 Nov. 2025
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Their inclusion underlines the wider context of the film, provoking the audience to hold these pure and impure images together.—
Jourdain Searles,
HollywoodReporter,
28 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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The ice machine was unclean and had black mold-like residue.—
Sacbee.com,
Sacbee.com,
6 Mar. 2026
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Its answer to Fading West’s arbitration lawsuit also accuses Fading West of breach of contract, fraud and unclean hands, without further explanation.—
Justin Wingerter,
Denver Post,
4 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Defiled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/defiled. Accessed 13 Mar. 2026.
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