as in pernicious
Related Words
Relevance
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
-
This safety feature is indispensable, which makes this new wave of thefts particularly pernicious.—
The Editorial Board,
Chicago Tribune,
11 June 2026 -
What frightens scientists more than the sheer numbers are that the cuts are arbitrary and manifestly pernicious.—
Business Columnist,
Los Angeles Times,
11 June 2026
Verb
-
And putting data centers into orbit may help companies avoid the community backlash against data centers and the sometimes polluting power plants installed to run them on Earth.—
Ashley Capoot,CJ Haddad,Samantha Subin,Lora Kolodny,
CNBC,
12 June 2026
-
Meta has denied that its Georgia data center is polluting waters.—
Ashley Belanger,
ArsTechnica,
12 June 2026
Verb
-
This is the justification for killing people, which, by the way, does not sound that different from the justifications governments offer for violating people’s human rights.—
Jen Chaney,
Vulture,
17 June 2026
-
The group sued to block the probe, alleging the agency was violating its First Amendment rights.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
17 June 2026
Adjective
-
The magic trick of creator Katie Dippold’s series, about a mayor named Tom Loftis (Matthew Rhys) who tries to bring tourism to his totally cursed island community, lies in its hard-to-describe tone.—
Nicholas Quah,
Vulture,
17 June 2026
-
The history has fueled countless theories, documentaries, podcasts and social media posts that portray Lake Lanier as cursed or haunted.—
Zachary Bynum,
CBS News,
15 June 2026
Verb
-
Lewis was accused of poisoning two white female housemates, assaulted by a white mob in response to the charge, and acquitted in court, only to then be accused of stealing art supplies and prohibited from reënrolling.—
Zachary Fine,
New Yorker,
8 June 2026
-
It was also used in a separate supply-chain attack poisoning dozens of Red Hat packages.—
Dan Goodin,
ArsTechnica,
8 June 2026
Adjective
-
Their jail is strange and unwholesome.—
Robert Rubsam,
The Atlantic,
26 Mar. 2026
-
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
-
There's a corrupt deal happening at the biggest levels among the billionaire class to increase their wealth at the expense of many people are suffering greatly right now.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
14 June 2026
-
The police are a corrupt institution.—
Grace Byron,
New Yorker,
14 June 2026
Adjective
-
That wasn’t its only subject; comedy and power and misogyny and creativity and intergenerational conflict and work ethic and, especially in its last few seasons, the debased state of the entertainment industry were all richly explored through lines.—
Judy Berman,
Time,
29 May 2026
-
And this has lent Margot a debased sort of celebrity.—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
6 Apr. 2026
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.
Cite this Entry
“Defiling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/defiling. Accessed 20 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
