1
as in to taint
to affect slightly with something morally bad or undesirable
believed that luxury vitiates even the most principled person
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to mar
to reduce the soundness, effectiveness, or perfection of
numerous grammatical errors vitiate the effectiveness of your writing
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in to degrade
to lower in character, dignity, or quality
a penchant for coarse language vitiates what is otherwise a refined literary style
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of vitiate
Obviously this does not vitiate the whole enterprise of poetry.
—
Andrea Long Chu, Vulture, 6 May 2025
Such words are verbal roadblocks that not only vitiate the meaning of your message but worse, obscure its clarity.
—Jerry Weissman, Forbes.com, 23 Apr. 2025
Older now, and vitiated by the injuries sustained during the attempt on his life, Sliwa was nonetheless imposing.
—Kent Russell, Harper's Magazine, 28 Feb. 2025
Brazil’s and Colombia’s efforts to mediate between Maduro’s government and the opposition have floundered, and their desire to appear neutral in the name of dialogue has vitiated their ability to act on principle.
—Christopher Sabatini, Foreign Affairs, 9 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for vitiate
Andrea Long Chu, Vulture, 6 May 2025
Such words are verbal roadblocks that not only vitiate the meaning of your message but worse, obscure its clarity.
—Jerry Weissman, Forbes.com, 23 Apr. 2025
Older now, and vitiated by the injuries sustained during the attempt on his life, Sliwa was nonetheless imposing.
—Kent Russell, Harper's Magazine, 28 Feb. 2025
Brazil’s and Colombia’s efforts to mediate between Maduro’s government and the opposition have floundered, and their desire to appear neutral in the name of dialogue has vitiated their ability to act on principle.
—Christopher Sabatini, Foreign Affairs, 9 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for vitiate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for vitiate
Verb
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With him alive, she was tainted by association with his poor behavior.—
Ann Foster,
JSTOR Daily,
9 July 2025
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Combs’ reputation has been thoroughly tainted by the lurid details of the trial and strong condemnations from his many accusers.—
August Brown,
Los Angeles Times,
3 July 2025
Verb
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The Mets go the way of Francisco Lindor, and he’s been marred in his own slump this month.—
Abbey Mastracco,
New York Daily News,
30 June 2025
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The last weekend of June in Indianapolis was marred by a rash of shootings that left seven dead and nine others injured.—
Noe Padilla,
IndyStar,
30 June 2025
Verb
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Customer service was once rated among the highest in the American Customer Satisfaction Index – until relentless budget cuts started to degrade it.—
Teresa Ghilarducci,
Forbes.com,
7 July 2025
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But, unlike metal drill bits, which generally last for years, these enabling molecules are designed to degrade very quickly, falling apart within a few days at most.—
Paul Sisson,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
6 July 2025
Verb
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Dodge won't spoil the surprise by confirming if the last one will be based on the Charger or the Challenger (or maybe both), but the evidence suggests the latter is more likely.—
Jack Fitzgerald,
Car and Driver,
13 Feb. 2023
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Farmers’ broiler chickens suffocate, and dairy products spoil.—
Monica Mark,
The Christian Science Monitor,
10 Feb. 2023
Verb
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Thirty-nine members of the battalion were killed in October, 1917, and a hundred and thirty-five were injured.—
Ed Caesar,
New Yorker,
13 July 2025
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Three people were injured after being struck by lightning in a popular summer beach getaway town on Saturday night.—
Peter D'Abrosca,
FOXNews.com,
13 July 2025
Verb
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Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is 86 years-old and his political power is weakened following the short war with Israel.—
Jackie Northam,
NPR,
9 July 2025
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The June jobs report showed strong headline numbers, but the underlying data pointed to a weakening labor market.—
Danny Bakst,
Fortune,
9 July 2025
Verb
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The health secretary said vegetable oils, like canola and soybean, are poisoning Americans and driving the obesity epidemic.—
Brittney Melton,
NPR,
8 July 2025
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After a week of deliberation, the jury found Erin Patterson lured her mother-in-law Gail Patterson, father-in-law Donald Patterson and Gail’s sister, Heather Wilkinson, to lunch at her home and poisoned them with individual servings of Beef Wellington that contained death cap mushrooms.—
Reuters,
NBC news,
7 July 2025
Verb
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Driving through deep water can also damage a vehicle's mechanical and electrical systems.—
NC Weather Bot,
Charlotte Observer,
14 July 2025
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Anything that damages the trust between the vendor, Microsoft, and the user is as much a threat as the hackers themselves, in my never humble opinion.—
Davey Winder,
Forbes.com,
14 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Vitiate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/vitiate. Accessed 19 Jul. 2025.
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