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Synonym Chooser

How is the word vitiate different from other verbs like it?

Some common synonyms of vitiate are corrupt, debase, debauch, deprave, and pervert. While all these words mean "to cause deterioration or lowering in quality or character," vitiate implies a destruction of purity, validity, or effectiveness by allowing entrance of a fault or defect.

a foreign policy vitiated by partisanship

When can corrupt be used instead of vitiate?

In some situations, the words corrupt and vitiate are roughly equivalent. However, corrupt implies loss of soundness, purity, or integrity.

the belief that bureaucratese corrupts the language

When is it sensible to use debase instead of vitiate?

While the synonyms debase and vitiate are close in meaning, debase implies a loss of position, worth, value, or dignity.

commercialism has debased the holiday

When would debauch be a good substitute for vitiate?

The synonyms debauch and vitiate are sometimes interchangeable, but debauch implies a debasing through sensual indulgence.

the long stay on a tropical isle had debauched the ship's crew

When could deprave be used to replace vitiate?

The words deprave and vitiate are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, deprave implies moral deterioration by evil thoughts or influences.

the claim that society is depraved by pornography

When might pervert be a better fit than vitiate?

The words pervert and vitiate can be used in similar contexts, but pervert implies a twisting or distorting from what is natural or normal.

perverted the original goals of the institute

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of vitiate His lawyers contend that the case was tainted by violations of Trump’s constitutional rights and that the verdict is vitiated by the Supreme Court’s immunity ruling. Michael R. Sisak, Los Angeles Times, 4 Sep. 2024 His lawyers contend the case was tainted by violations of Trump's constitutional rights and that the verdict is vitiated by the Supreme Court's immunity ruling. CBS News, 3 Sep. 2024 The bill vitiates the existing legal agreements between the parties as to the calculation of re-setting of the ground lease rent and removes all leverage in negotiations. Anita W. Laremont, New York Daily News, 14 May 2024 Yet, the Biden Justice Department’s infighting and foot-dragging caused the statute of limitations for the 2014 and 2015 tax years to lapse, vitiating some of the investigation’s key allegations. The Editors, National Review, 21 July 2023 See All Example Sentences for vitiate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for vitiate
Verb
  • Apologies to the late John Lennon, but that song has been tainted for many. Need a break?
    KiMi Robinson, USA Today, 7 Apr. 2025
  • The river is tainted with harmful toxins from industrial waste, trash and untreated sewage.
    Kimberly Dickson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • His rookie season was marred by an uneven second half, which was hindered by hand and foot injuries.
    Mike Kaye, Charlotte Observer, 25 Apr. 2025
  • His final collegiate season was marred by a shoulder injury and insufficient QB play, but Loveland still led the Wolverines in receptions (56), receiving yards (582) and receiving TDs (five).
    Eddie Brown, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • Yields usually fall when fear is dominating markets, but their surprising earlier rise stirred fears that Trump’s trade war was degrading the U.S. bond market’s status as one of the world’s safest places to keep cash.
    Stan Choe, Los Angeles Times, 24 Apr. 2025
  • Unlike many other archaeological sites in Sweden, where acidic soil degrades organic material, Strandvägen’s conditions have allowed organic material to survive for many years, as Gummesson tells the publication.
    Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 24 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • 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
  • Farmers’ broiler chickens suffocate, and dairy products spoil.
    Monica Mark, The Christian Science Monitor, 10 Feb. 2023
Verb
  • Memorial at Florida State University after a fatal shooting killed two people and injured several others.
    Kati Weis, CBS News, 20 Apr. 2025
  • The spill killed 11 people and injured 17 others as 210 million gallons of crude oil were released into the Gulf of Mexico (recently renamed by the U.S. government as Gulf of America) for a total of 87 days.
    Terry Collins, USA Today, 20 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • As more state legislation is passed that weakens or eliminates longstanding fire and life safety codes, the need for young workers who are trained and passionate about reversing these trends is high.
    Jim Pauley, Forbes.com, 28 Apr. 2025
  • The pests set about sucking the sap from grape roots, slowly weakening them and opening wounds that invited disease.
    The Editors, JSTOR Daily, 28 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • Morgan was previously married to Keith Whitley from 1986 to his alcohol poisoning death in 1989 at age 34.
    Rachel DeSantis, People.com, 17 Apr. 2025
  • Scores of sea lions and dolphins have been fatally poisoned in recent months by domoic acid, a neurotoxin produced by harmful algal blooms.
    Corinne Purtill, Los Angeles Times, 17 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • Mineral extraction has damaging social consequences in developing countries, where the impoverished are often compelled to work in unsafe and unhygienic conditions.
    Foreign Affairs, Foreign Affairs, 22 Apr. 2025
  • Arson – To unlawfully and intentionally damage or attempt to damage any real or personal property of another person or entity by fire or incendiary device.
    Baltimore Sun staff, Baltimore Sun, 22 Apr. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Vitiate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/vitiate. Accessed 2 May. 2025.

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