beray

C2+ Topic:Actions & Processes

US /bɪˈreɪ/ UK /bɪˈreɪ/ See IPA manual

Homophones

bewray /bɪˈreɪ/

Minimal pairs

Sounds like belay /l/ vs /r/

Meanings

1

verb
to befoul, defile, or soil thoroughly

The frightened hound managed to beray the whole carpet before they could catch it.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to befoul, defile, or soil... befoul defile besmear bemire soil besmirch

Opposites

cleanse purify

Word family

Related forms array

Etymology

From be- (intensive) + ray ('to defile, soil'), an aphetic form of array in its obsolete sense 'to disorder, befoul,' from Old French areer.

be- Old English areer Old French

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Actions & Processes Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# beray

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** /bɪˈreɪ/
**IPA (UK):** /bɪˈreɪ/

## Meanings
1. to befoul, defile, or soil thoroughly

## Examples
- The frightened hound managed to beray the whole carpet before they could catch it.

## Synonyms
- befoul
- defile
- besmear
- bemire
- soil
- besmirch

## Antonyms
- cleanse
- purify

## Related Forms
- array

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: be-
- Root: areer

## Etymology
From be- (intensive) + ray ('to defile, soil'), an aphetic form of array in its obsolete sense 'to disorder, befoul,' from Old French areer.

## AI Etymology
Beray is from be- (intensive) + ray ('to defile, soil'), an aphetic form of array in its obsolete sense 'to disorder, befoul,' from Old French areer. Important recorded forms include be- (Old English) and areer (Old French). Morphologically, the word is a built form whose named elements carry part of the historical sense. The current sense covers to befoul, defile, or soil thoroughly. The wider family includes related words such as array.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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