Home / Dictionary / defile

defile

/dɪˈfaɪl/
verb
  1. To make unclean, dirty, or impure; soil; befoul.

  2. To vandalize or add inappropriate contents to something considered sacred or special; desecrate

    "To urinate on someone's grave is an example of a way to defile it."

  3. To deprive or ruin someone's (sexual) purity or chastity, often not consensually; stain; tarnish; mar; rape

    "The serial rapist kidnapped and defiled a six-year-old girl."

Synonymscontaminate, pollute, spoil, sully, desecrate, profane
Antonymsclean, purify, sanctify

Practice "defile" in context

WordNote uses spaced repetition across multiple quiz levels, from recognizing the meaning to recalling it in active practice.

Save to WordNote — it's free →

No credit card. No install required.