Definitions
from The Century Dictionary.
- To make unclean, dirty, or impure; soil; befoul.
- Figuratively, to sully or tarnish, as reputation, etc.
- To make ceremonially unclean.
- To overcome the chastity of; debauch; violate; deflower.
- To taint, in a moral sense; corrupt; vitiate; debauch; pollute.
- Synonyms To contaminate, foul, stain, dirty. See
taint , v. t. - To march off in a line, or by files; file off.
- In fortification, same as
defilade . - noun A narrow passage in a mountain region; a gorge through which a body of troops or other persons can pass in a file or narrow line.
- noun A march by files.
- noun Synonyms Gorge, Ravine, etc. See
valley .
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- intransitive verb To march off in a line, file by file; to file off.
- transitive verb (Mil.) Same as
defilade . - transitive verb To make foul or impure; to make filthy; to dirty; to befoul; to pollute.
- transitive verb To soil or sully; to tarnish, as reputation; to taint.
- transitive verb To injure in purity of character; to corrupt.
- transitive verb To corrupt the chastity of; to debauch; to violate; to rape.
- transitive verb To make ceremonially unclean; to pollute.
- noun Any narrow passage or gorge in which troops can march only in a file, or with a narrow front; a long, narrow pass between hills, rocks, etc.
- noun (Mil.) The act of defilading a fortress, or of raising the exterior works in order to protect the interior. See
Defilade .
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- verb transitive to make
impure ; to makedirty . - noun A
narrow way orpassage , e.g. between mountains. - noun A single
file , such as of soldiers. - verb obsolete, intransitive To
march in asingle file .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- verb spot, stain, or pollute
- verb make dirty or spotty, as by exposure to air; also used metaphorically
- verb place under suspicion or cast doubt upon
- noun a narrow pass (especially one between mountains)
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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That reached, compensation for the ugly scenery we had to pass through began when we entered a beautiful mountain defile, about two hours from Damascus.
The Romance of Isabel, Lady Burton William Henry Burton Wilkins 1897
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The defile was a death trap, where huge pistons shot out and slammed across from side to side.
Worldshaker Richard Harland 2009
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The defile was a death trap, where huge pistons shot out and slammed across from side to side.
Worldshaker Richard Harland 2009
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A jagged chasm ran across the cavern, and on the other side of the defile was a writhing sea of furred flesh and sharp teeth.
Curse of the Shadowmage Anthony, Mark, 1966- 1995
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Before us the defile was a slit which was half choked by rock falls from above.
Year of the Unicorn Norton, Andre 1965
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Scattered along the bottom of the defile were the men who had fallen at the first fire, and Sanderson's eye glinted with rage when he looked at them; for he recognized some of them as men of the outfit for whom he had conceived a liking.
Square Deal Sanderson Charles Alden Seltzer 1908
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Sapientum_ -- 'a fountain of abundant water, which no heats of summer can ever dry, which no flood can ever defile, which is as a water of life, to them that thirst for life, a stream of cleansing to them that would be pure, and a medicine of such healing virtue that by it, through the might of God and the intercession of His saints, the most grievous wounds are made whole. '
The House of Souls Arthur Machen 1905
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The points which it was necessary to take to command the defile were the town of Arcola and a bridge over the rapid stream on which the town day.
The Life Of Napoleon Bonaparte Tarbell, Ida 1899
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The ice is found in a narrow defile, which is hemmed in by perpendicular sides of trap-rock, and displays a perfect chaos of fallen blocks of stone.
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A large proportion of these were peace offerings, which afforded to the people the means of festive enjoyment. all Israel ... from the entering in of Hamath -- that is, the defile at
azd commented on the word defile
as in a narrow passage or gorge
February 23, 2007