1
as in to taint
to affect slightly with something morally bad or undesirable
believed that luxury vitiates even the most principled person
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to mar
to reduce the soundness, effectiveness, or perfection of
numerous grammatical errors vitiate the effectiveness of your writing
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in to degrade
to lower in character, dignity, or quality
a penchant for coarse language vitiates what is otherwise a refined literary style
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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.
Recent Examples of vitiate
Obviously this does not vitiate the whole enterprise of poetry.
—
Andrea Long Chu, Vulture, 6 May 2025
Such words are verbal roadblocks that not only vitiate the meaning of your message but worse, obscure its clarity.
—Jerry Weissman, Forbes.com, 23 Apr. 2025
Older now, and vitiated by the injuries sustained during the attempt on his life, Sliwa was nonetheless imposing.
—Kent Russell, Harper's Magazine, 28 Feb. 2025
In middle- and low-income countries, trafficking impedes sustainable development by destabilizing communities and vitiating human potential.
—Jamille Bigio, Foreign Affairs, 8 June 2021
See All Example Sentences for vitiate
Andrea Long Chu, Vulture, 6 May 2025
Such words are verbal roadblocks that not only vitiate the meaning of your message but worse, obscure its clarity.
—Jerry Weissman, Forbes.com, 23 Apr. 2025
Older now, and vitiated by the injuries sustained during the attempt on his life, Sliwa was nonetheless imposing.
—Kent Russell, Harper's Magazine, 28 Feb. 2025
In middle- and low-income countries, trafficking impedes sustainable development by destabilizing communities and vitiating human potential.
—Jamille Bigio, Foreign Affairs, 8 June 2021
See All Example Sentences for vitiate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for vitiate
Verb
-
One year ago, Martinsville was tainted by race manipulation on two counts.—
Jordan Bianchi,
New York Times,
25 Oct. 2025
-
That means Zaha will be suspended for Game 1 of the playoffs against NYCFC, which tainted an otherwise near-perfect evening for the home team.—
Scott Fowler,
Charlotte Observer,
19 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Advertisement While the commercial supply of goods has improved since the cease-fire deal, the flow of humanitarian aid continues to be marred by bureaucracy, delays, and blockages.—
Anna Halford,
Time,
25 Oct. 2025
-
Martin starred as one of the NFL’s top running backs a decade ago, in a career that was also marred by injuries and off-field challenges.—
Jakob Rodgers,
Mercury News,
22 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
The local politicians like Mayor Wu who are staying mum are just compounding cronyism and degrading the livability of the neighborhood.—
Lou Murray,
Boston Herald,
29 Oct. 2025
-
The goal is to understand exactly how and why performance degrades over time.—
Georgina Jedikovska,
Interesting Engineering,
29 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
For the party’s new leadership, running Libertarian candidates and providing an outlet for their voters’ political perspective isn’t spoiling.—
Seth Klamann,
Denver Post,
26 Oct. 2025
-
The Pistons were whistled for 31 fouls, resulting in 48 Houston free-throw attempts, and still found a way to spoil the Rockets’ home opener.—
Hunter Patterson,
New York Times,
25 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
The next day, however, a football-style tussle left him injured.—
Liza Esquibias,
PEOPLE,
31 Oct. 2025
-
The 2023 edition opened a month later as Israel intensified its bombing campaign on Gaza, which has since killed more than 67,000 people, injured another 170,000 and razed the Palestinian territory to the ground, prompting accusations of genocide, which Israel has strongly rejected.—
Melanie Goodfellow,
Deadline,
30 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Losing him for the entire World Series would weaken their already-thin bullpen, and force Roberts to get creative in high-leverage situations after his starting pitcher has been removed.—
Jon Paul Hoornstra,
MSNBC Newsweek,
24 Oct. 2025
-
After accounting for lifestyle variables like exercise, the effects weakened a bit as, for example, more active people tend to spend more time outdoors.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
24 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Leawood police fielded nearly 400 food-poisoning complaints and conducted about 130 interviews, a volume that briefly crashed the department’s records system, according to the Johnson County Post, KSHB 41 and KCTV5.—
Christina Coulter,
PEOPLE,
28 Oct. 2025
-
Chloe then baked a cake poisoned with oleander leaves killing the owner’s wife and some children.—
Noreen Kompanik,
Boston Herald,
26 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Cuomo has sought to cast Mamdani, a 34-year-old state assemblymember, as a naive candidate whose agenda would damage the city.—
Jason Ma,
Fortune,
27 Oct. 2025
-
The three suspects damaged property and smashed several iPads taken from a special education classroom, according to a Facebook post by the Chandler Police Department.—
Wren Smetana,
AZCentral.com,
26 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Vitiate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/vitiate. Accessed 1 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share