Both Uses of
defile
in
The House of Mirth
- Miss Bart caught the startled glance of Mr. Percy Gryce, whose own lips were never defiled by tobacco.†
Chpt 1.2 *
- The thought unhallowed the memory of that last hour, made a mock of the word he had come to speak, and defiled even the reconciling silence upon which it fell.†
Chpt 2.14
Definition:
-
(defile as in: it was defiled) to spoil the beauty or purity of somethingin 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