defilement
/dɪˈfʌɪlm(ə)nt
/noun [mass noun]
The action of defiling or the state of being defiled: the heinous defilement of their most sacred site [count noun]: the purification of all defilements...
- Water metaphors give rise to a fluid cosmology of feelings in which senses of pollution, dirt and defilement are caught up with the need to protect social, moral and bodily boundaries.
- Spiritual impurity or moral defilement starts on the inside.
- Among these communities, economic interdependence was inescapable but the boundaries of defilement remained.
Synonyms
degradation, debasement, spoiling, sullying, impairment;
pollution, poisoning, corruption, tainting, tarnishing
desecration, profanation, profanity, violation, sacrilege;
impurity, contamination, pollution, debasement, degradation, dishonour, vitiation