/ English Dictionary |
DEFILE
Pronunciation (US): | (GB): |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
A narrow pass (especially one between mountains)
Synonyms:
defile; gorge
Classified under:
Nouns denoting natural objects (not man-made)
Hypernyms ("defile" is a kind of...):
mountain pass; notch; pass (the location in a range of mountains of a geological formation that is lower than the surrounding peaks)
II. (verb)
Verb forms
Present simple: I / you / we / they defile ... he / she / it defiles
Past simple: defiled
-ing form: defiling
Sense 1
Meaning:
Example:
The townspeople defiled the river by emptying raw sewage into it
Synonyms:
befoul; defile; foul; maculate
Classified under:
Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.
Hypernyms (to "defile" is one way to...):
attaint; disgrace; dishonor; dishonour; shame (bring shame or dishonor upon)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody
Something ----s something
Derivation:
defilement (the state of being polluted)
defiler (a person or organization that causes pollution of the environment)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Make dirty or spotty, as by exposure to air; also used metaphorically
Example:
Her reputation was sullied after the affair with a married man
Synonyms:
defile; maculate; stain; sully; tarnish
Classified under:
Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging
Hypernyms (to "defile" is one way to...):
blob; blot; fleck; spot (make a spot or mark onto)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "defile"):
darken (tarnish or stain)
Sentence frames:
Something ----s
Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something
Sense 3
Meaning:
Place under suspicion or cast doubt upon
Example:
sully someone's reputation
Synonyms:
cloud; corrupt; defile; sully; taint
Classified under:
Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging
Hypernyms (to "defile" is one way to...):
deflower; impair; mar; spoil; vitiate (make imperfect)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s something
Something ----s somebody
Something ----s something
Context examples:
At five in the cold winter's morning the bugles were blowing in the hamlet of St. Jean Pied-du-Port, and by six Sir Nigel's Company, three hundred strong, were on their way for the defile, pushing swiftly in the dim light up the steep curving road; for it was the prince's order that they should be the first to pass through, and that they should remain on guard at the further end until the whole army had emerged from the mountains.
(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)