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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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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
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for defilement
Noun
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Both girls were also charged with arson, possession of a weapon during a violent crime, and desecration of human remains.—
Rachel Hale,
USA TODAY,
21 Jan. 2025 -
Robbed of the event’s usual flair, the competitors instead put on a display of oafish masculinity, eating Combos on the ice and getting overly handsy with a female partner, among other desecrations of the sport.—
Dan Reilly,
Vulture,
30 July 2024
Noun
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People in certain regions of Minnesota, especially the southeast, have long been at a higher risk of nitrate contamination from their private wells.—
MinnPost,
Twin Cities,
7 Feb. 2025
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The decision to put untested but possibly hazardous waste in Sunshine Canyon, Hunter said, doesn’t consider the landfill’s proximity to residences and the potential for groundwater contamination in the event that the landfill’s liner system is damaged due to an earthquake.—
Tony Briscoe,
Los Angeles Times,
7 Feb. 2025
Noun
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On each occasion the violations again ranged from basic to high priority.—
Kristan Hawkins,
Newsweek,
7 Feb. 2025
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Trump funding freeze a blatant violation of Constitution, federal law: Legal experts Even bolder, Trump's pledging to dismantle entire agencies.—
Alexandra Hutzler,
ABC News,
7 Feb. 2025
Noun
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Jennifer Jay is a professor of Environmental Engineering at UCLA, focusing on transport of contaminants in the environment.—
Josh Hammer,
Newsweek,
14 Feb. 2025
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The 92-year-old dam filters out trash, contaminants, and other things from the Clinch River that could sully the lake’s pristine appearance.—
Meghan Overdeep,
Southern Living,
12 Feb. 2025
Noun
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But there is evidence that French society is shifting on the acceptance of blasphemy, particularly among France’s 5-million-strong Muslim population and the younger generation.—
Colette Davidson,
The Christian Science Monitor,
8 Jan. 2025
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The other side: To turkey's defenders, this is blasphemy — and the haters revealing their own poor culinary skills.—
Jeff Weiner,
Axios,
25 Nov. 2024
Noun
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Connecticut began following the California standards in 2004 and continued doing so as regulators in that state gradually shifted from the goal of reducing smog-forming pollutants to fighting climate change.—
John Moritz,
Hartford Courant,
4 Feb. 2025
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Barker, who had recently published an inventory of rocket emissions and pollutants from satellite re-entries in the journal Nature, posted the estimates on his LinkedIn profile shortly after the mishap.—
Tereza Pultarova,
Space.com,
2 Feb. 2025
Noun
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The mayor has been under sharp scrutiny since President Trump’s Department Justice Department last week ordered prosecutors in his federal corruption case to drop the criminal charges against him.—
Chris Sommerfeldt,
New York Daily News,
18 Feb. 2025
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Four deputy mayors from New York City Mayor Eric Adams' administration resigned Monday after the Justice Department moved to dismiss Adams' corruption case.—
Josh Hammer,
Newsweek,
17 Feb. 2025
Noun
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For many liberals and radicals, beginning with Lord Byron, Elgin was a vandal who had committed sacrilege.—
Ralph Leonard,
The Atlantic,
4 Feb. 2025
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But sometimes movies need a little sacrilege to achieve their full potential.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
13 Sep. 2024
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Thesaurus Entries Near defilement
Cite this Entry
“Defilement.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/defilement. Accessed 22 Feb. 2025.
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