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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Stringer/Sputnik via AP What To Know Broadly desecration of a flag refers to any action that damages or disrespects it—such as burning it, urinating or defecating on it, defacing it, stepping on it, damaging it with stones or bullets, cutting or ripping it and many others.—
Jasmine Laws,
MSNBC Newsweek,
27 Aug. 2025 -
The decision upheld a Texas Court of Appeals ruling that reversed Gregory Lee Johnson’s conviction under a Texas law banning flag desecration.—
BrieAnna J. Frank,
USA Today,
26 Aug. 2025
Noun
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In fact, rinsing again can increase the risk of cross-contamination from your sink, hands, or utensils.—
Katie Rosenhouse,
Southern Living,
7 Sep. 2025
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There was what was called the ‘contamination rule’.—
George Caulkin,
New York Times,
6 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The bills, named for the global pop star — and the frantic rush to get tickets for her shows around the country — strengthen penalties for using bots to buy tickets in bulk and give the state attorney general the ability to investigate potential violations of the law.—
Arpan Lobo,
Freep.com,
8 Sep. 2025
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Expending taxpayer funds on a capital project without secured or approved funding is both fiscally irresponsible and a violation of sound budgeting practices.—
Penny Weaver,
Arkansas Online,
8 Sep. 2025
Noun
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These certifications show that the system has been proven to filter out the specific contaminants in your water.—
Nora Colomer,
FOXNews.com,
6 Sep. 2025
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The novel device may one day help identify diseases and detect trace levels of contaminants in factories and the environment, researchers say.—
IEEE Spectrum,
IEEE Spectrum,
4 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Many societies in the past have linked swearing to blasphemy or sin.—
Mark Travers,
Forbes.com,
3 Sep. 2025
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The organization has also taken on international cases involving silent prayer arrests in the U.K. and blasphemy charges in Nigeria.—
Jasmine Baehr,
FOXNews.com,
31 July 2025
Noun
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More rural parts of the country can also see overflows from factory farms, leading to large amounts of animal waste and other pollutants ending up in ponds, lakes and rivers.—
Christopher Cann,
USA Today,
3 Sep. 2025
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The pollutants that were pumped into the river, unregulated for decades, pose the biggest threat to its ecosystem.—
Adriana Pérez,
Chicago Tribune,
31 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Temirov was unlawfully deported to Moscow in 2022 in retaliation for his investigative reporting on high-level corruption in the Kyrgyz government, according to Sorensen.—
Ray Long,
Chicago Tribune,
3 Sep. 2025
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Many Iranians wonder why their government spends so much money and effort on picking fights with Israel, the United States, and their allies, rather than on fixing its own corruption.—
Graeme Wood,
The Atlantic,
2 Sep. 2025
Noun
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For years, Apple treated the idea of windows on the iPad as sacrilege.—
Craig Grannell,
Wired News,
16 Aug. 2025
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And still, Wankdorf Stadium heaved with Portuguese song, as if any other noise outside of a goal celebration might border on sacrilege.—
Megan Feringa,
New York Times,
4 July 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Defilement.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/defilement. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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