defilement
the act of making something foul, dirty, or unclean:Humankind's destruction and defilement of the natural environment is seriously endangering the continuation of life on this planet.
the violation of something considered sacred, or the act of making something ceremonially impure; desecration: I want to express our profound disgust and contempt for the recent defilement of the mosque by graffiti.
the act of violating a person’s chastity:The Lagos state government has approved the use of a toll-free emergency line to report cases of rape, defilement, child abuse, and other sexual assaults.
Origin of defilement
1Other words from defilement
- non·de·file·ment, noun
Words Nearby defilement
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use defilement in a sentence
In days of yore, blood on screen was to be feared: think the trickle of blood signaling defilement in old vampire movies.
Sex, Blood and Maroon 5: Pop Culture’s Wounds Run Deep | Lizzie Crocker | October 3, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThey feel there is defilement even in the shadow of the scaffold.'
Trent's Last Case | E.C. (Edmund Clerihew) BentleyIt is this which withers up sin to the root, and enables us to cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit.
Expositor's Bible: The Second Epistle to the Corinthians | James DenneyCleanness, however, seems to come under temperance, for this it is which precludes bodily defilement.
On Prayer and The Contemplative Life | St. Thomas AquinasHe must not be sullied by a spot of moral defilement (for purity only can face God or love men).
The Expositor's Bible: The Epistle to the Hebrews | Thomas Charles Edwards
Even the earthly shrine had not itself contracted defilement.
The Expositor's Bible: The Epistle to the Hebrews | Thomas Charles Edwards
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