defilement

noun

Definition of defilementnext
1
as in desecration
an act of great disrespect shown to God or to sacred ideas, people, or things for two centuries the Christian monasteries in England suffered defilements at the hands of Viking invaders

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in contamination
something that is or that makes impure souvenir shops, observation towers, and other tacky defilements on Civil War battlefields that should be considered hallowed ground

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Examples Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for defilement
  1. desecration
  2. contamination
  3. violation
  4. contaminant
  5. blasphemy
  6. pollutant
  7. corruption
  8. sacrilege
Noun
  • Artifact theft and desecration are surprisingly common in national parks.
    Corey Buhay, Outside Online, 8 Nov. 2024
  • Another count, desecration of a human corpse, was dismissed.
    KC Baker, People.com, 17 Oct. 2024
Definition of desecration
Noun
  • The Food and Drug Administration has also said the slivered onions, supplied by food producer Taylor Farms Colorado Springs, are the most likely source of contamination.
    Erika Edwards, NBC News, 30 Oct. 2024
  • That plant was cited by the FDA last September for failing to properly investigate bacterial contamination.
    Madison Muller, Fortune, 29 Oct. 2024
Definition of contamination
Noun
  • The lawsuit, now in its early stages, seeks to prohibit any further clean water violations as well as civil penalties.
    Tom Philp, The Mercury News, 6 Nov. 2024
  • The next day, my son received a notice of eviction from the property manager because of a violation of his lease’s Crime Free Addendum.
    Christopher A. Combs, The Arizona Republic, 5 Nov. 2024
Definition of violation
Noun
  • The Honeywell air purifier has three speed settings and an auto mode, which responds quickly to contaminants in the air.
    Camryn Rabideau, People.com, 28 Oct. 2024
  • The side effects of the contaminants might reveal themselves in the body as mineral depletion, heavy metal overload or lethargy (chronic fatigue, leaky gut, hyperactivity, dissociation, anhedonia).
    Harmony Holiday, Los Angeles Times, 24 Oct. 2024
Definition of contaminant
Noun
  • Its advocates point to the fact that pubic officials shrank from condemning the bodyguard who in January 2011 shot Salman Taseer, the governor of Punjab, who had spoken out against Pakistan's blasphemy law.
    Stephen D. Krasner, Foreign Affairs, 29 Nov. 2011
  • Some 79 countries around the world continue to enforce blasphemy laws.
    Kristina M. Lee, The Conversation, 18 Oct. 2024
Definition of blasphemy
Noun
  • These gases contain pollutants, such as carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, and unburned fuel, that are harmful to human health, as well as carbon dioxide, which warms Earth’s atmosphere.
    Michael Leamy, Discover Magazine, 2 Nov. 2024
  • The main concerns about sardines are mercury poisoning, heavy metal contamination, environmental impacts, and BPA. Mercury poisoning: Mercury is a damaging pollutant found in fish, including sardines.
    Lana Barhum, Verywell Health, 31 Oct. 2024
Definition of pollutant
Noun
  • Donald Trump slams Nancy Pelosi for corruption, calls military generals stupid Robby Soave and Nomiki Konst react to Donald Trump’s rhetoric, resorting to more name-calling.
    The Hill, The Hill, 5 Nov. 2024
  • Newer parties are attracting more voters given Puerto Rico’s economic and political turmoil while a younger generation is decrying corruption, persistent power outages and a lack of affordable housing, among other things.
    Danica Coto, Chicago Tribune, 5 Nov. 2024
Definition of corruption
Noun
  • But sometimes movies need a little sacrilege to achieve their full potential.
    Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 13 Sep. 2024
  • However, that didn’t stop right-wing figures around the world, including Donald Trump, from claiming that the performance amounted to sacrilege, leading to widespread harassment against Jolly, as well as some of the performers involved.
    James Factora, Them, 29 Oct. 2024
Definition of sacrilege
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.

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“Defilement.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/defilement. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024.

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More from Merriam-Webster on defilement

Nglish: Translation of defilement for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of defilement for Arabic Speakers

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