defiled 1 of 2

adjective

as in contaminated

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defiled

2 of 2

verb

past tense of defile
1
as in polluted
to make unfit for use by the addition of something harmful or undesirable supplies of meat that had been defiled by maggots

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2
as in violated
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

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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 defiled
Verb
The Tesla’s desecration follows a vandalism spree in Queens that saw religious centers, homes and vehicles defiled with swastikas and antisemitic slogans last month. — Barry Williams, New York Daily News, 26 June 2026 And earlier this month, Russia prompted outrage by installing an exhibit that some commentators said defiled the Katyn Memorial, the site of the mass execution of Polish POWs by the Soviets in 1940. — Nathan Hodge, CNN Money, 26 Apr. 2026 Among the false claims Energy Transfer alleged Greenpeace had spread was that the energy company defiled Native American cultural boundaries. — Mark Curriden, Dallas Morning News, 13 Mar. 2026 Militia members had ransacked and defiled the house. — Yousra Elbagir, Time, 25 Feb. 2026 As a state legislator, Lincoln stood against slave catchers backed by the federal government who defiled our state’s laws and terrorized our most vulnerable. — Chicago Tribune, 16 Feb. 2026 The work of love, and the question of what happens when love is absent or defiled, became a central preoccupation. — Literary Hub, 15 Jan. 2026 Their beautiful sanctuary has been defiled, and Emily is fired. — Jessica M. Goldstein, Vulture, 18 Dec. 2025 After occupying forces defiled the temple, a small army led by Judah the Maccabee liberated the sanctuary. — Jose R. Gonzalez, AZCentral.com, 10 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for defiled
  1. contaminated
  2. polluted
  3. violated
  4. tainted
  5. poisoned
  6. desecrated
  7. impure
  8. unclean
Adjective
  • To break the chains of infections stemming from contaminated needles, Soqo has proposed supplying thousands of sterile needles and syringes to communities of methamphetamine users.
    — David Cox, NPR, 26 Sep. 2026
  • After our investigation, my colleagues and I published a paper describing the anthrax cases from contaminated mail.
    — Daniel Jernigan, STAT, 26 Sep. 2026
Definition of contaminated
Verb
  • In the northern part of the district, the waterfront is polluted by ships.
    — Jemma Stephenson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 Sep. 2026
  • Our state has thousands of sites already polluted with toxic chemicals and other pollutants, and those projects affect air quality, safe drinking water and community health for millions of Californians.
    — Shannon Olivieri Hovis, Mercury News, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of polluted
Verb
  • Bonta said his office is investigating whether OpenAI violated any laws and vowed to use the state’s enforcement powers to protect California residents.
    — Rena Rowe, The Washington Examiner, 1 Oct. 2026
  • The suit also claims UCLA violated its federal grant terms and asks for the funds to be repaid.
    — Jaweed Kaleem, Los Angeles Times, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of violated
Adjective
  • Some say that our country is too tainted and that political progress can be had only by extra-legal means.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 1 Oct. 2026
  • Many Coloradans spent the last few months changing their diets, avoiding produce in fear of tainted food, as nearly 20,000 people across the country were sick after a historic cyclospora outbreak that came from contaminated lettuce.
    — Jaimie Dodge, CBS News, 17 Sep. 2026
Definition of tainted
Verb
  • The video cuts to Swift living out exactly what Johnson’s been living through, revealing that Farrell poisoned Swift, leading to her death.
    — Nicole Fell, HollywoodReporter, 27 Sep. 2026
  • In her other case, Hogan has been accused of trying to falsify a paternity test in a custody battle with her ex-fiancé, who was not the same man who was allegedly poisoned.
    — Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 25 Sep. 2026
Definition of poisoned
Verb
  • Then in January 2026, according to police, a potential family member reached out to police and said the mausoleum and grave of a relative at Riverview Cemetery were unlawfully desecrated in 2002.
    — David Chiu, PEOPLE, 8 Sep. 2026
  • Skeletal remains found in a Wilmington, Delaware, park 15 years ago have been identified as a woman who died in 1907, and whose gravesite was later desecrated.
    — Joe Brandt, CBS News, 6 Sep. 2026
Definition of desecrated
Adjective
  • Wise’s wistful songwriting is retained, but completely missing is his intentionally impure palette.
    — Billie Bugara, Pitchfork, 7 Mar. 2026
  • Kanto practitioners believe that women cannot participate because, according to Japan's Shinto religion, women's blood from menstruation and childbirth is considered impure for the purpose of religious rituals.
    — Anthony Kuhn, NPR, 3 Nov. 2025
Definition of impure
Adjective
  • Food prep including tomato cutting and slicing on an unclean surface.
    — Sacbee.com, Sacbee.com, 18 Sep. 2026
  • Using unclean tools can introduce pathogens or diseases to your mint plants, potentially harming them and affecting future harvests.
    — Lauren Wellbank, Martha Stewart, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of unclean

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Cite this Entry

“Defiled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/defiled. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

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