Word of the Day 11.11.08

vi·ti·ate (vsh-t)

tr.v. vi·ti·at·ed, vi·ti·at·ing, vi·ti·ates

1. To reduce the value or impair the quality of.

2. To corrupt morally; debase.

3. To make ineffective; invalidate. See Synonyms at corrupt.

[Latin vitire, vitit-, from vitium, fault.]

viti·a·ble (vsh--bl) adj.

viti·ation n.

viti·ator n.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2003. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Verb

1.

vitiate – corrupt morally or by intemperance or sensuality; “debauch the young people with wine and women”; “Socrates was accused of corrupting young men”; “Do school counselors subvert young children?”; “corrupt the morals”

corrupt, debase, debauch, demoralise, demoralize, deprave, misdirect, pervert, profane, subvert

alter, change, modify – cause to change; make different; cause a transformation; “The advent of the automobile may have altered the growth pattern of the city”; “The discussion has changed my thinking about the issue”

carnalise, sensualise, sensualize, carnalize – debase through carnal gratification

infect – corrupt with ideas or an ideology; “society was infected by racism”

lead astray, lead off – teach immoral behavior to; “It was common practice to lead off the young ones, and teach them bad habits”

poison – spoil as if by poison; “poison someone’s mind”; “poison the atmosphere in the office”

bastardise, bastardize – change something so that its value declines; for example, art forms

suborn – incite to commit a crime or an evil deed; “He suborned his butler to cover up the murder of his wife”

2.

vitiate – make imperfect; “nothing marred her beauty”

mar, deflower, impair, spoil

damage – inflict damage upon; “The snow damaged the roof”; “She damaged the car when she hit the tree”

defile, sully, taint, corrupt, cloud – place under suspicion or cast doubt upon; “sully someone’s reputation”

blemish, deface, disfigure – mar or spoil the appearance of; “scars defaced her cheeks”; “The vandals disfigured the statue”

3.

vitiate – take away the legal force of or render ineffective; “invalidate a contract”

void, invalidate

alter, change, modify – cause to change; make different; cause a transformation; “The advent of the automobile may have altered the growth pattern of the city”; “The discussion has changed my thinking about the issue”

Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2008 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

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Posted on November 11, 2008 by admin

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