defile
verb
[ dɪˈfʌɪl ]
• damage the purity or appearance of; mar or spoil.
• "the land was defiled by a previous owner"
Similar:
spoil,
sully,
mar,
impair,
debase,
degrade,
pollute,
poison,
corrupt,
taint,
tarnish,
infect,
foul,
befoul,
dirty,
soil,
stain,
destroy,
ruin,
Origin:
late Middle English: alteration of obsolete defoul, from Old French defouler ‘trample down’, influenced by obsolete befile ‘befoul, defile’.
defile
noun
• a steep-sided narrow gorge or passage (originally one requiring troops to march in single file).
• "the twisting track wormed its way up a defile to level ground"
defile
verb
• (of troops) march in single file.
• "we emerged after defiling through the mountainsides"
Origin:
late 17th century: from French défilé (noun), défiler (verb), from dé ‘away from’ + file ‘column, file’.
