vitiate - Definitions from Dictionary.com

6 results for: vitiate

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

vi·ti·ate

Audio Help [vish-ee-eyt] Pronunciation Key

–verb (used with object), -at·ed, -at·ing.

1.	to impair the quality of; make faulty; spoil.

2.	to impair or weaken the effectiveness of.

3.	to debase; corrupt; pervert.

4.	to make legally defective or invalid; invalidate: to vitiate a claim.

[Origin: 1525–35; < L vitiātus, ptp. of vitiāre to spoil, der. of vitium blemish, vice¹ + -ātus -ate¹

]

—Related forms

vi·ti·a·tion, noun

vi·ti·a·tor, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
vitiate

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

vi·ti·ate Audio Help (vĭsh'ē-āt') Pronunciation Key
tr.v. vi·ti·at·ed, vi·ti·at·ing, vi·ti·ates

To reduce the value or impair the quality of.
To corrupt morally; debase.
To make ineffective; invalidate. See Synonyms at corrupt.

[Latin vitiāre, vitiāt-, from vitium, fault.]

vi'ti·a·ble (vĭsh'ē-ə-bəl) adj., vi'ti·a'tion n., vi'ti·a'tor n.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
vitiate (v.)

1534, from L. vitiatus, pp. of vitiare "to make faulty, injure, spoil, corrupt," from vitium "fault, defect, blemish, crime, vice" (see vice (1)).

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

vitiate
verb
1.	corrupt morally or by intemperance or sensuality; "debauch the young people with wine and women"; "Socrates was accused of corrupting young men"; "Do school counselors subvert young children?"; "corrupt the morals"
2.	make imperfect; "nothing marred her beauty" [syn: mar]
3.	take away the legal force of or render ineffective; "invalidate a contract" [syn: invalidate] [ant: validate]