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
Relevance
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
-
The technology ideally should be used for sectors that are difficult to decarbonize, such as cement production, aviation and agriculture, rather than to extend the life of polluting power plants or to prolong the use of oil and gas, Koberle said.—
Emma Burleigh,
Fortune,
5 Sep. 2025 -
Stop polluting and give them stable, growing economies in which to be raised.—
Suwanna Gauntlett Upjohn,
Forbes.com,
29 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
The bill will force cities in large counties in the state to allow projects on properties within one-half mile of certain transit stops, even on land that is not zoned for residential use, or face a fine for violating state law.—
Stephen Hobbs,
Sacbee.com,
13 Sep. 2025
-
San Diego City Councilmember Jennifer Campbell has admitted violating city record-keeping rules during her 2022 re-election campaign and agreed to pay a $300 fine to resolve the case brought by the San Diego Ethics Commission.—
Jeff McDonald,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
13 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
That pernicious lack of knowledge, sadly, persists to this day.—
Sahar Mustafah
August 27,
Literary Hub,
27 Aug. 2025
-
By being seen as seriously pursuing domestic reform, the Administration may be able to garner deals for the phasing out of particularly pernicious ACMDs.—
Alden Abbott,
Forbes.com,
21 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
Sherrilyn McQueen, who has published more than 80 novels that reached the New York Times bestseller list under the name Sherrilyn Kenyon, first accused her ex-husband Lawrence Kenyon of poisoning her in a lawsuit in 2019, a year after her husband filed for divorce.—
Evan Mealins,
The Tennessean,
10 Sep. 2025
-
Symptoms of salmonella poisoning Symptoms of salmonella infection usually start six hours to six days after swallowing the bacteria.—
Mary Walrath-Holdridge,
USA Today,
10 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
This is the cursed object that shows up at the Smurls, though the actual conjuring mirror – long a mainstay in the Warrens' Occult Museum, alongside the infamous Annabelle – was obtained from a man in New Jersey.—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
5 Sep. 2025
-
The new documentary Boorman and the Devil mostly answers that question affirmatively, providing a play-by-play account of the film’s troubled — and as many believed, cursed — production, followed by its catastrophic reception.—
Jordan Mintzer,
HollywoodReporter,
5 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
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
-
By mid-afternoon the weather turned downright unwholesome.—
Arthur Grahame,
Outdoor Life,
4 June 2025
Adjective
-
According to the latest 2024 Transparency International report, the Americas average 42 out of 100 points on a scale where 100 is very transparent and zero is very corrupt.—
Sofía Benavides,
CNN Money,
14 Sep. 2025
-
With the help of Landy and Nicky Parsons, Bourne goes up against Vosen (David Strathairn), the corrupt director of Operation Blackbriar.—
Declan Gallagher,
Entertainment Weekly,
13 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Describing the damping precisely meant accidentally allowing forbidden precision in position or momentum.—
Rupendra Brahambhatt,
Interesting Engineering,
16 Aug. 2025
-
Anthropic has introduced weekly rate limits for its Claude chatbot focused on curbing excessive—and forbidden—usage of Claude Code.—
PC Magazine,
PC Magazine,
29 July 2025
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 16 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share