defiled

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /dɪˈfaɪld/ UK /dɪˈfaɪld/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

adj
made impure, dirty, or desecrated

The defiled shrine was carefully cleansed and restored.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · made impure, dirty, or... desecratedpolluted contaminated taintedsulliedcorruptedbesmirchedprofaned

Opposites

pure sacred consecrated clean sanctified

Word family

Related forms defile defilementdefilerfoul

Appears in

Proverbs (1)

See all

He who touches pitch will be defiled

Etymology

Past participle of defile ('to make impure'), from Middle English defoulen, from Old French defouler ('to trample down'), with later spelling influenced by file.

defouler Old French fullare Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# defiled

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

## Meanings
1. made impure, dirty, or desecrated

## Examples
- The defiled shrine was carefully cleansed and restored.

## Synonyms
- desecrated
- polluted
- contaminated
- tainted
- sullied
- corrupted
- besmirched
- profaned

## Antonyms
- pure
- sacred
- consecrated
- clean
- sanctified

## Related Forms
- defile
- defilement
- defiler
- foul

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: defouler
- Root: fullare

## Etymology
Past participle of defile ('to make impure'), from Middle English defoulen, from Old French defouler ('to trample down'), with later spelling influenced by file.

## AI Etymology
Defiled is the past participle of defile ('to make impure'), from Middle English defoulen, from Old French defouler ('to trample down'), with later spelling influenced by file. The ancestry passes through Old French defouler and Latin fullare. In present use as an adjective, it means "made impure, dirty, or desecrated", keeping the historical formation close to the word's ordinary semantic work. Related words include defile, defilement, defiler, and foul. Its contrast set includes pure, sacred, consecrated, and clean, which clarifies the semantic boundary of the modern word.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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