only 1 use
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Definition
to dirty the beauty or purity of something
in various senses, including:
- pollute a pristine lake
- harm a reputation or good name
- damage or disrespect something sacred
- take a person's virginity in a disrespectful way
- Would not the people start up in their seats, by a simultaneous impulse, and tear him down out of the pulpit which he defiled?Chapter 11 -- The Interior of a Heart (69% in)
There are no more uses of "defile" in The Scarlet Letter.
Typical Usage
(best examples)