as in pernicious
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Dissimilar Words
1
as in polluting
to make unfit for use by the addition of something harmful or undesirable
supplies of meat that had been defiled by maggots
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in violating
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for defiling
Adjective
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But Clavicular’s rise is pernicious.—
Will Gottsegen,
The Atlantic,
26 Mar. 2026 -
So when and why did humans fall prey to such a pernicious threat?—
Andrew Paul,
Popular Science,
26 Feb. 2026
Verb
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To some extent, nearly every gas station is polluting the ground beneath it, experts say.—
Ashley Miznazi,
Miami Herald,
9 Apr. 2026
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Millions of gallons a day of raw, untreated sewage and industrial waste flows north through the Tijuana River, across the border, into the Tijuana River Estuary and out into the Pacific — polluting the air as well.—
Walker Armstrong,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
5 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Prosecutors said Kamnik also used the state's Justice Network, known as JNET, to obtain hundreds of photographs of women, violating database policies.—
Frederick Sutton Sinclair,
CBS News,
9 Apr. 2026
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Several have also been sanctioned by foreign governments that accused them of supporting and serving in the military government or violating human rights.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
9 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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It was happily branded as a cursed object, and hidden among the porno tapes behind the beaded curtains at video stores across the country.—
David Ehrlich,
IndieWire,
5 Apr. 2026
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Ru awards it to the crew for having to watch the entirety of what must have been the most cursed puppet show since Being John Malkovich.—
Rebecca Alter,
Vulture,
28 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Steven White told me that Marsha Allen had killed her husband, Harold, by poisoning a root beer float.—
Peter Van Sant,
CBS News,
5 Apr. 2026
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In the Middle Ages, local churchgoers whispered of clannish Jews poisoning wells to kill Christian children and steal their blood for their rituals.—
Mike Rothschild,
Big Think,
31 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Their jail is strange and unwholesome.—
Robert Rubsam,
The Atlantic,
26 Mar. 2026
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Grievous bodily harm, nonconsensual drugging, murder, yes…still, thank god there’s nothing unwholesome here, like say a man in a dress.—
Dennis Harvey,
Variety,
14 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Today, Christians observe Good Friday — a day when corrupt religious and political forces crucified Jesus of Nazareth as a common criminal on a rubbish heap outside the city walls of Jerusalem.—
Peter Cook,
New York Daily News,
3 Apr. 2026
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First there’s Phil Reizenstein, who, during a long career plumbing the depths of Magic City jurisprudence, has represented a former telenovela actor who killed a motorist in a road rage incident, as well as a DEA agent in an investigation into corrupt activities.—
Nate Freeman,
Vanity Fair,
3 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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And this has lent Margot a debased sort of celebrity.—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
6 Apr. 2026
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But the influencer landscape is getting debased and splintered and a bit draining, even for Kylie.—
Nate Freeman,
Vanity Fair,
11 Mar. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Defiling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/defiling. Accessed 13 Apr. 2026.
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