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
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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
as in pernicious
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for defiling
Verb
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Threats to these sites from the outside include logging and mining in the region, developing nearby land, diverting natural water flows, and polluting the air, water and land.—
Jessica Beaudette,
The Conversation,
11 Oct. 2025 -
This invisible, climate-polluting gas can escape into the water through fissures in the sea floor, often revealing itself with a stream of bubbles weaving their way up to the ocean surface.—
Laura Paddison,
CNN Money,
10 Oct. 2025
Verb
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YouTube said creators terminated for copyright infringement or for violating its Creator Responsibility policies are not eligible.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
10 Oct. 2025
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Yet despite several apparent breakthroughs, Trump has in recent months repeatedly accused China of violating the terms.—
Elisabeth Buchwald,
CNN Money,
10 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Worse, many engaged in a particularly rash form of gaming, making high-speed wagers on in-game action — a pernicious new product called microbetting.—
Paul Solotaroff,
Rolling Stone,
12 Oct. 2025
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Yet his film, even in its omissions, brims with strategic ingenuity and daring, cinematic and political—to fight other films’ empty fantasies with substantial ones, to battle other advocates’ pernicious myths with virtuous ones.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
7 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Hogan initially denied poisoning her estranged husband, according to police, but later changed her story.—
Mike Stunson,
Miami Herald,
6 Oct. 2025
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Krishna discovers that Kaliya is living beneath the surface of a local pond and poisoning its waters with his venom.—
Seamus Sullivan
September 29,
Literary Hub,
29 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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The series follows a Louvre art restorer who uncovers a cursed Mesopotamian mask tied to the storm god Baal Phegor, drawing her into a web of disappearances and dark secrets.—
Ben Croll,
Variety,
13 Oct. 2025
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Lip readers knew exactly what Mahomes was saying to Hutchison, even though NBC Sports’ cameras cut away before the Chiefs quarterback finished his sentence (and cursed).—
Pete Grathoff,
Kansas City Star,
13 Oct. 2025
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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Elliot Richardson, the Attorney General, resigned -- resigned rather than carry out the corrupt orders of the president.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
12 Oct. 2025
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Eric Adams, who started his career as a transit cop, was undone in part by his dealings with corrupt old friends from the department.—
Eric Lach,
New Yorker,
9 Oct. 2025
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 17 Oct. 2025.
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