defilements

noun

plural of defilement
1
as in corruptions
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

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in contaminants
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 defilements
  1. violations
  2. contaminants
  3. pollutants
  4. contaminations
  5. impurities
Noun
  • Four of seven members agreed with the District’s staff recommendation that the school had addressed the violations and should keep its charter.
    — Alula Alderson, Sacbee.com, 19 Aug. 2026
  • Major was charged with one count of conspiracy and six counts of Lacey Act violations, and Eborn was charged with one count of conspiracy and seven counts of Lacey Act violations.
    — Nicole Blanchard, Idaho Statesman, 19 Aug. 2026
Definition of violations
Noun
  • Water filters This pitcher uses Advanced Carbon Core Technology filters to remove up to three times as many contaminants as standard filters.
    — BestReviews, Chicago Tribune, 19 Aug. 2026
  • Temporary low water pressure was monitored during the repair, with samples collected from seven locations in the affected area showing no evidence of contaminants.
    — Rachel Roberts, Idaho Statesman, 15 Aug. 2026
Definition of contaminants
Noun
  • This summer has seen record-smashing heatwaves across Europe, huge wildfires from Spain and France to Canada, which have released deadly pollutants into the air, and yet more extreme heat from Africa to Asia.
    — Catarina Rolfsdotter-Jansson, Forbes.com, 22 Aug. 2026
  • These fun masks foam up on the skin to remove dirt, oil, debris, and other pollutants that can clog your pores.
    — BestReviews, Chicago Tribune, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of pollutants
Noun
  • In one of the heaviest contaminations of TCE and PCE documented, thousands of soldiers and their families were exposed to the solvents at North Carolina’s Camp Lejeune from 1953 to 1987.
    — WUFT News, Miami Herald, 29 July 2026
  • And the Food and Drug Administration is also investigating contaminations that may be tied to a different outbreak.
    — Mary Randolph, Scientific American, 24 July 2026
Definition of contaminations
Noun
  • That concentrate requires further refining to remove impurities.
    — Matthew Kayser, USA Today, 21 Aug. 2026
  • After 15 years of experiments, Schumm’s group ended up with a recipe for solid calcium fluoride crystals, doped with little impurities of thorium 229, that looked like transparent millimeter-sized cubes.
    — Jacek Krywko, Scientific American, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of impurities
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.

Browse Nearby Words

defilement
defilements
defiles
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Defilements.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/defilements. Accessed 27 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of southpaw

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Commonly Misspelled Words
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Even More Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Why do we say 'break a leg'?

16 Glee-ridden Words from Schitt's Creek
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
alt-684346df967d5
Add A Letter Quiz Pick the letter that goes in the same spot in fou...
See All