defiled

[ dih-fahyld ]

adjective

1. made foul, dirty, or unclean; polluted or tainted:

   Morally, those with defiled consciences are flying blind.

2. made impure for ceremonial or ritual use; desecrated:

   To the left is a defiled shrine, with statues toppled and the symbol of an unrecognizable god destroyed.

3. sullied, as a person’s reputation:

   The lawyer added to his defiled reputation the other day by getting into a fistfight with a congressman.

4. Archaic. deprived of one’s virginity or having one’s chastity violated.

verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of defile ¹( def ).

Other Words From

• un·de·filed adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of defiled¹

defile ¹( def ) + -ed ²( def )

Example Sentences

The gospels of James and Pseudo-Matthew, which didn’t make it into the codified Bible, provide some of the most characterful scenes, as when Joseph comes home to find Mary six months pregnant and exclaims irately, “Who did this evil thing in my house and defiled her?”

From New York Times

At the hearing in October 2023, Hugh Tomlinson KC, for Mr Trump, described the allegations in the memos - which included a claim that the 77-year-old had "defiled" a bed previously used by former president Barack Obama and his wife - as "egregiously inaccurate".

From BBC

Nearly 20 years later, vandals dug up and defiled corpses.

From Los Angeles Times

In his resignation letter, he said the CCC had been "defiled", accusing the ruling Zanu-PF party of being behind the move - allegations it denied.

From BBC

For a long time, the only way to revisit these vital artifacts from Seattle’s rock glory years was through incomplete collections that were routinely defiled by fans seeking to have a copy of Cobain’s ad or similar treasures for themselves.

From Seattle Times