defile

A soldier who requested anonymity explained to AFP that since then the body had been guarded around the clock "so that rival groups do not defile him."

From Barron's ● Mar. 3, 2026

Some Parisians backed the move, but others - including heritage campaigners - said it was a bad idea and would "defile" the French capital's iconic monument.

From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2024

“We can’t just take, defile and desecrate someone’s body without consent,” Numa says.

From Salon ● Jan. 23, 2024

Protesters blocked construction crews in 2015 and 2019, saying building a new telescope there would further defile a site that they say has already been harmed by a dozen other observatories.

From Seattle Times ● Jul. 19, 2022

It’s amazing how quickly he can defile a space.

From "Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins

As mixed as I am on the film itself, I appreciate that the Academy is embracing not just a horror movie, but a gleeful Grand Guignol that defiles the Walk of Fame twice.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 24, 2025

"It is time to realize that fundamentalism defiles and corrupts every creed," he said.

From Reuters ● Sep. 14, 2022

In the name of personalization, she says, “it defiles, ignores, overrides and displaces everything about you and me that is personal.”

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 11, 2019

Even as he builds his delegate count, he gains strength from the very groups he defiles.

From The Guardian ● Mar. 10, 2016

As the day wore on, Melyngar led them swiftly through rocky defiles to high ridges.

From "The Book of Three" by Lloyd Alexander

The writer Octavio Paz, the Mexican Nobel laureate, denounced Malinche as a kind of malevolent Eve whose submission to Cortés forever defiled Mexico’s mixed identity.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 25, 2026

Close friend Jo Peraldi finds it hard to believe that a day of high emotion surrounding the funeral of Orsoni's mother could have been defiled in such a way.

From BBC ● Jan. 17, 2026

The Seleucids captured the holy Temple of Jerusalem and defiled it by erecting an altar to the Greek god Zeus inside.

From National Geographic ● Dec. 7, 2023

During Roof's trial the prosecution made sure to remind the jury that he had defiled a famous church.

From Salon ● Jul. 16, 2023

Besides, I've defiled enough future historical sites for now.

From "The Martian" by Andy Weir

Let’s start with the users defiling the site with parodies of Musk and prominent corporations.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 16, 2022

The country's blasphemy law prohibits disturbing a religious assembly, trespassing on burial grounds, insulting religious beliefs or intentionally destroying or defiling a place or an object of worship.

From BBC ● Apr. 18, 2022

"This is a defiling a classic," said another.

From Reuters ● Feb. 13, 2022

Others see the mining as defiling the land on the reserve by polluting the waters, stripping bare the land, as well as upending centuries-old cultural traditions.

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 17, 2022

He hid his terror in his heart, however, and addressed the stranger: “What country is your fatherland? No hateful and defiling lies, I beg you. Tell me the truth.”

From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton