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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of defiled
Mark Curriden, Dallas Morning News, 13 Mar. 2026
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
Verb
Among the false claims Energy Transfer alleged Greenpeace had spread was that the energy company defiled Native American cultural boundaries.
—Mark Curriden, Dallas Morning News, 13 Mar. 2026
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for defiled
Adjective
-
Its contaminated followers were one step removed from the beasts of the field.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
13 Mar. 2026
-
The company later recovered more than 888,000 gallons of contaminated fuel that had mixed with other gasoline already in the tanks.—
Jasmine Arenas,
CBS News,
8 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Today, the bluegills, catfish and Canada geese that once populated the area have mostly abandoned the creek, which has long been polluted by runoff from farms and nearby parking lots.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
16 Mar. 2026
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The copper-mining industry has so polluted the town that its air stinks and its mountains are covered in black ash.—
Joe Reid,
Vulture,
10 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Murphy, who was nominated to the bench by President Joe Biden, said Kennedy’s reconstitution of ACIP likely violated federal law.—
Lisa Schencker,
Chicago Tribune,
17 Mar. 2026
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Murphy, who was nominated to the bench by President Joe Biden, said Kennedy's reconstitution of ACIP likely violated federal law.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
17 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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The case has it all — backroom deals, bribes, tainted legislation, dark money contributions — even the suicide of a prominent official at the center of the scandal.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
17 Mar. 2026
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Those officers are no longer allowed to testify in criminal court cases because of their tainted reputation.—
Dave Savini,
CBS News,
12 Mar. 2026
Verb
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In Alabama, the punishment for this audacity had most often involved waking up to her family’s dogs poisoned in the night.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
17 Mar. 2026
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Prosecutors alleged Richins poisoned her husband with a cocktail laced with illicit fentanyl while the couple was celebrating at their home in March 2022.—
Stepheny Price,
FOXNews.com,
17 Mar. 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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Wise’s wistful songwriting is retained, but completely missing is his intentionally impure palette.—
Billie Bugara,
Pitchfork,
7 Mar. 2026
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This is because they are often seen as ritually impure.—
Megan Bryson,
The Conversation,
5 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Navarro explains that this is most likely because people commonly touch their spice jars with unclean hands after handling raw meat and don’t sanitize the containers after the fact.—
Caroline Lubinsky,
Martha Stewart,
14 Mar. 2026
-
The tabletop can opener was unclean.—
Sacbee.com,
Sacbee.com,
13 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Defiled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/defiled. Accessed 23 Mar. 2026.
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