different between defile vs discredit

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /d??fa?l/
• Rhymes: -a?l

Etymology 1

From Middle English defilen (“to make dirty”), alteration (due to Middle English defoulen, defoilen (“to trample, abuse”)) of Middle English befilen (“to befoul, to defile, to make foul”), from Old English bef?lan (“to befoul, defile”), from Proto-Germanic *bi- + *f?lijan? (“to defile, make filthy”). Equivalent to de- +? file. Cognate with Dutch bevuilen (“to defile, soil”). More at de-, file, be-, and foul.

Verb

defile (third-person singular simple present defiles, present participle defiling, simple past and past participle defiled)

1. (transitive) To make unclean, dirty, or impure; soil; befoul.
2. (transitive) To vandalize or add inappropriate contents to something considered sacred or special; desecrate

3. (transitive) To deprive or ruin someone's (sexual) purity or chastity, often not consensually; stain; tarnish; mar; rape

Synonyms

• (make unclean): contaminate, pollute, spoil, sully; see also Thesaurus:dirty
• (vandalize something considered sacred): desecrate, profane; see also Thesaurus:desecrate
• (violate chastity of): ravish, violate, vitiate

Antonyms

• (make unclean): clean, purify; see also Thesaurus:make clean
• (vandalize something considered sacred): sanctify; see also Thesaurus:consecrate

Related terms

Translations

Etymology 2

Earlier defilee, from French défilé, from défiler (“to march past”), from file (“file”).

Noun

defile (plural defiles)

1. A narrow way or passage, e.g. between mountains.
   • 1958, Plutarch, Ian Scott-Kilvert (translator), "Life of Nicias" in Lives: The Fall of the Roman Republic

     The next morning the enemy were on the march before him, seized the defiles, blocked the fords of the rivers, destroyed the bridges, and sent out cavalry to patrol the open ground, so as to oppose the Athenians at every step as they retreated.

2. A single file, such as of soldiers.
3. The act of defilading a fortress, or of raising the exterior works in order to protect the interior.

Translations

See also

• glen

Verb

defile (third-person singular simple present defiles, present participle defiling, simple past and past participle defiled)

1. (archaic, intransitive) To march in a single file; to file.
   • 1979, Cormac McCarthy, Suttree, Random House, p.138:

     They defiled down a gully to the water and bunched and jerked their noses at it and came back.

Translations

Anagrams

• e-filed

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology

From French défilé.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /def?le?/
• Hyphenation: de?fi?le

Noun

defìl? m (Cyrillic spelling ???????)

1. march-past

Declension

References

• “defile” in Hrvatski jezi?ni portal

English

Etymology

dis- +? credit.

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -?d?t

Verb

discredit (third-person singular simple present discredits, present participle discrediting, simple past and past participle discredited)

1. (transitive) To harm the good reputation of a person; to cause an idea or piece of evidence to seem false or unreliable.

   The candidate tried to discredit his opponent.

   The evidence would tend to discredit such a theory.

Synonyms

• demean, disgrace, dishonour, disprove, invalidate, tell against

Derived terms

• discreditor

Translations

Noun

discredit (countable and uncountable, plural discredits)

1. (countable or uncountable) Discrediting or disbelieving.
2. (countable) A person or thing that causes harm to a reputation, as of a person, family, or institution.
3. (uncountable) The state of being discredited or disbelieved.

   Later accounts have brought the story into discredit.

4. (uncountable) A degree of dishonour or disesteem; ill repute; reproach.
   • 1815, Doctor Rogers, “A good Life the best Ornament of the Christian Profession” (sermon), in Family Lectures: or, a copious Collection of Sermons, F. C. and J. Rivington et al., page 351:

     It is the duty of every Christian to be concerned for the reputation or discredit his life may bring on his profession.

Synonyms

• (degree of dishonour): demerit

Translations

References

• discredit in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• discredit at OneLook Dictionary Search

Romanian

Etymology

From French discrédit.

Noun

discredit n (uncountable)

1. disrepute

Declension