defilement

Noun

defilement (countable and uncountable, plural defilements)

1. The act of defiling.
   • Time has taken a terrible revenge upon mankind for his despoliation of the valleys and his defilement of the mountains, yet the industries and the railways of South Wales still put the bravest front upon an outlook which all may hope is becoming less saddening and less grim.1939 September, D. S. Barrie, “The Railways of South Wales”, in Railway Magazine, page 165
   • The new law also applies to acts of defilement besides burning, such as publicly ripping a flag up. Public display of the Nazi swastika and other Nazi symbols is already banned in Germany.2020 May 15, “Burning EU and other flags can now bring German jail term”, in BBC, archived from the original on 04 Jun 2025

   Synonyms:

   debasement, perversion, pollution, adulteration, contamination, defedation, sophistication, abasement, corruption, debauchment

2. The state of being defiled.

   Synonyms:

   depravity, perversion, pollution, baseness, corruption, degeneracy, degradation, depravation, depravedness, impurity

3. The protection of the interior walls of a fortification from enfilading fire, as by covering them, or by a high parapet on the exposed side.