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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Nine crucial years of expansion and solidification of the pernicious institution went by, speeding the nation’s road toward a grinding war.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 June 2026 -
Microplastics are tiny fragments, that can be as small as 1/25,000th of an inch (1 micrometer) and are a pernicious part of the plastic pollution crisis.—
Laura Paddison,
CNN Money,
29 Apr. 2026
Verb
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As a brand built on ethical fashion on a mission to improve the industry, Everlane—and its CEO—has sold its soul to the devil by associating itself with one (if not the) most polluting fast-fashion player in the world.—
Clara Ludmir,
Forbes.com,
18 May 2026
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Engineers and safety experts are solving problems in a new technology that gets us off expensive and polluting fossil fuels.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
9 May 2026
Verb
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Both Israel and Hezbollah — which was not party to the ceasefire — accuse each other daily of violating the truce.—
Khaled Wassef,
CBS News,
3 June 2026
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Section 301 allows the USTR to investigate countries potentially violating other nations’ trade agreements or practices that hurt US business.—
David Goldman,
CNN Money,
3 June 2026
Adjective
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The penalty shootout is a cursed affliction when the roulette wheel fails you, and that was Arsenal’s fate here.—
Amy Lawrence,
New York Times,
31 May 2026
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Before his arrival, PSG almost seemed cursed in this competition and was unable to get over the line almost to the point of ridicule – then stepped in this visionary Spanish genius.—
Ben Church,
CNN Money,
30 May 2026
Verb
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Symptoms of salmonella poisoning Symptoms of salmonella poisoning usually start six hours to six days after ingesting the bacteria.—
Mary Walrath-Holdridge,
USA Today,
2 June 2026
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Four people have died in California as a result of the amatoxin poisoning outbreak.—
Sacbee.com,
Sacbee.com,
1 June 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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Democrats have never run against a candidate like Ken Paxton that is so corrupt that his own party impeached him.—
NBC news,
NBC news,
31 May 2026
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Our lame-duck governor is happily corrupt and no longer answerable to Floridians.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
30 May 2026
Adjective
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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
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And this has lent Margot a debased sort of celebrity.—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
6 Apr. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Defiling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/defiling. Accessed 5 Jun. 2026.
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