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vitiate - 5 dictionary results

vi⋅ti⋅ate

  [vish-ee-eyt]
Use vitiate in a Sentence
–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, vice 1 + -ātus -ate 1

Related forms:
vi⋅ti⋅a⋅tion, noun
vi⋅ti⋅a⋅tor, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To vitiate
vi·ti·ate   (vĭsh'ē-āt')   
tr.v.   vi·ti·at·ed, vi·ti·at·ing, vi·ti·ates
  1. To reduce the value or impair the quality of.
  2. To corrupt morally; debase.
  3. 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.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Vitiate

Vi"ti*ate\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Vitiated; p. pr. & vb. n. Vitiating.] [L. vitiatus, p. p. vitiare to vitiate, fr. vitium a fault, vice. See Vice a fault.] [Written also viciate.]

1. To make vicious, faulty, or imperfect; to render defective; to injure the substance or qualities of; to impair; to contaminate; to spoil; as, exaggeration vitiates a style of writing; sewer gas vitiates the air.

A will vitiated and growth out of love with the truth disposes the understanding to error and delusion. --South.

Without care it may be used to vitiate our minds. --Burke.

This undistinguishing complaisance will vitiate the taste of readers. --Garth.

2. To cause to fail of effect, either wholly or in part; to make void; to destroy, as the validity or binding force of an instrument or transaction; to annul; as, any undue influence exerted on a jury vitiates their verdict; fraud vitiates a contract.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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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)).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: vi·ti·ate
Pronunciation: 'vi-shE-"At
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Forms: -at·ed; -at·ing
: to make ineffective vitiates a contract>
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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