defile1
verb /dɪˈfaɪl/
/dɪˈfaɪl/
(formal or literary)Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they defile | /dɪˈfaɪl/ /dɪˈfaɪl/ |
| he / she / it defiles | /dɪˈfaɪlz/ /dɪˈfaɪlz/ |
| past simple defiled | /dɪˈfaɪld/ /dɪˈfaɪld/ |
| past participle defiled | /dɪˈfaɪld/ /dɪˈfaɪld/ |
| -ing form defiling | /dɪˈfaɪlɪŋ/ /dɪˈfaɪlɪŋ/ |
- defile something to make something dirty or no longer pure, especially something that people consider important or holy
- Many victims of burglary feel their homes have been defiled.
- The altar had been defiled by vandals.
Word Originlate Middle English: alteration of obsolete defoul, from Old French defouler ‘trample down’, influenced by obsolete befile ‘pollute, defile’.