1
as in desecration
an act of great disrespect shown to God or to sacred ideas, people, or things
for two centuries the Christian monasteries in England suffered defilements at the hands of Viking invaders
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in contamination
something that is or that makes impure
souvenir shops, observation towers, and other tacky defilements on Civil War battlefields that should be considered hallowed ground
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for defilement
Noun
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Later that day, her 25-year-old son, Khadir Jones, was arrested and charged with desecration of human remains, My Central Jersey reported.—
Muri Assunção,
New York Daily News,
4 Feb. 2026 -
Adams was also sentenced to two five-year sentences for unlawful removal of a dead body, and two seven-year sentences for unlawful desecration of a human corpse.—
KC Baker,
PEOPLE,
3 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Beyond the initial findings, additional testing conducted along the Potomac River shows how far the contamination spread and how dramatically bacteria levels varied depending on location.—
Greg Wehner,
FOXNews.com,
27 Jan. 2026
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However, its effects are increasingly visible in the form of algal blooms, fish kills and contamination of drinking water supplies.—
Dinesh Phuyal,
The Conversation,
26 Jan. 2026
Noun
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The Kremlin said its aircraft reacted to a violation of a no-fly zone Russia has established in the area near Crimea.—
DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE STAFF FROM WIRE REPORTS,
Arkansas Online,
6 Feb. 2026
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The issue, Council Member Jimmy Hallyburton said, is that the city doesn’t have any definitions of violations that the organizers may have committed.—
Shannon Tyler,
Idaho Statesman,
5 Feb. 2026
Noun
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As another plus, atmospheric water is free of the contaminants often present in ground sources, such as heavy metals and nitrates.—
Shi En Kim,
AZCentral.com,
26 Jan. 2026
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Those same frigid conditions, however, also make the polar craters efficient traps for modern contaminants, the study suggests.—
Sharmila Kuthunur,
Space.com,
26 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Another young man, Mashal Khan, a university student and poet, was lynched by a mob of fellow students who accused him of blasphemy.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
27 Jan. 2026
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As depicted in the movie, Lee was arrested multiple times for blasphemy and disturbing the peace.—
Patrick Ryan,
USA Today,
24 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Instead of drifting away, those pollutants and smells are concentrating right in your neighborhood.—
Ahmad Bajjey,
CBS News,
6 Feb. 2026
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Chattahoochee Riverkeeper sued Atlanta in federal court in September 2024 after the group’s water monitors detected high levels of bacteria and other pollutants in the wastewater the city was discharging into the river.—
Drew Kann,
AJC.com,
5 Feb. 2026
Noun
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But health policy experts have warned the new strategy carries risks for corruption and missing the most vulnerable people.—
Lauren Kent,
CNN Money,
4 Feb. 2026
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Under Erdoğan’s orders, prosecutors used charges of corruption, bribery, and support for terrorism to arrest Istanbul’s mayor and more than 100 other administrators of the Istanbul municipality.—
Kaya Genç,
The Dial,
3 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Doing anything else would be sacrilege to the faithful, as well as false to the friendship that exists at the center of this Broadway behemoth.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
18 Nov. 2025
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In 1998, the Lucky Chances casino opened, surrounded by graveyards on three side, which critics saw as a sacrilege.—
Chris Kenning,
USA Today,
25 Oct. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Defilement.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/defilement. Accessed 10 Feb. 2026.
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