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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for defiling
Adjective
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Secretary of State Marco Rubio, whose parents left Cuba a few years before Fidel Castro took power, has eyed the regime in Havana as one of the world’s most pernicious, inhumane and troublesome.—
Daniel DePetris,
Chicago Tribune,
3 Feb. 2026 -
America’s pernicious relationship with Haiti comes to a head once more this week.—
Ruth Jean-Marie,
Time,
3 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Others live and work near polluting freeways.—
Dorany Pineda,
Los Angeles Times,
20 Feb. 2026
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Japan, one of the world's top carbon emitters, plans to ship emissions from its heavily polluting industries –– spanning electric power, oil refining, cement, shipping and steel –– to Malaysia within the next few years.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
17 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Ramsey Orta, who famously recorded the police chokehold killing of Eric Garner in 2014, is back in legal hot water, accused of violating his supervised release in a gun case by assaulting two men in a Brooklyn smoke shop last July.—
John Annese,
New York Daily News,
18 Feb. 2026
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Rice was suspended for six games for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy.—
Jane Harper,
Dallas Morning News,
18 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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The story about a woman, who is considered a cursed bride, and her husband, who pretends to be possessed in an attempt to control her, is the first all-Pakistani feature at the Berlin International Film Festival, which has in the past featured Pakistani co-productions.—
Georg Szalai,
HollywoodReporter,
13 Feb. 2026
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Throughout the game, players must sacrifice their own blood to use as ammunition against terrifying statues of saints that come to life in order to survive while unraveling the mystery of the cursed island of Tormentosa.—
Jennifer Maas,
Variety,
10 Feb. 2026
Verb
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There are even tales of them poisoning people and holding funerals for their dead.—
Harmeet Kaur,
CNN Money,
11 Feb. 2026
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Officials in both Hong Kong and Beijing defended the case against Lai, with the city’s leader John Lee accusing the newspaper of inciting violence and poisoning young minds.—
Kanis Leung,
Los Angeles Times,
10 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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But unlike Materialists, those movies—pictures like Leo McCarey’s The Awful Truth or Preston Sturges’ The Palm Beach Story—emerged in a time when Hollywood censors were keeping a close eye on movies’ ideology, determined to protect audiences from unwholesome influences.—
Stephanie Zacharek,
Time,
13 June 2025
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By mid-afternoon the weather turned downright unwholesome.—
Arthur Grahame,
Outdoor Life,
4 June 2025
Adjective
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The corrupt a-s psychopath prosecutors’ office.—
Grethel Aguila,
Miami Herald,
15 Feb. 2026
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The film stars Jake Busey (Stranger Things) as Dirk, a corrupt cop who partners with an eager, broke assistant named Jeff Klima, played by Felix Merback (Blood Star).—
Zac Ntim,
Deadline,
11 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Only the first is still fashionable, and the last has been so debased, misused, and weaponized over the centuries as to be almost unspeakable in polite company.—
Zadie Smith,
New Yorker,
22 Sep. 2025
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But in recent years, acts of brazen violence have been the grim drumbeat of a debased national politics.—
Eric Cortellessa,
Time,
11 Sep. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Defiling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/defiling. Accessed 23 Feb. 2026.
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