The difference between Defile and Sully
When used as nouns, defile means a narrow way or passage, e.g. between mountains, whereas sully means a blemish.
When used as verbs, defile means to make unclean, dirty, or impure, whereas sully means to soil or stain.
check bellow for the other definitions of Defile and Sully
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Defile as a verb (transitive):
To make unclean, dirty, or impure; soil; befoul.
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Defile as a verb (transitive):
To vandalize or add inappropriate contents to something considered sacred or special; desecrate
Examples:
"To urinate on someone's grave is an example of a way to defile it."
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Defile as a verb (transitive):
To deprive or ruin someone's (sexual) purity or chastity, often not consensually; stain; tarnish; mar; rape
Examples:
"The serial rapist kidnapped and defiled a six-year-old girl."
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Defile as a noun:
A narrow way or passage, e.g. between mountains
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Defile as a noun:
A single file, such as of soldiers.
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Defile as a noun:
The act of defilading a fortress, or of raising the exterior works in order to protect the interior.
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Defile as a verb (archaic, intransitive):
To march in a single file.
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Sully as a verb (transitive):
To soil or stain; to dirty.
Examples:
"synonyms sowq1=obsolete"
"He did not wish to sully his hands with gardening."
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Sully as a verb (transitive):
To corrupt or damage.
Examples:
"She tried to sully her rival’s reputation with a suggestive comment."
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Sully as a verb (intransitive):
To become soiled or tarnished.
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Sully as a noun (rare, obsolete):
A blemish.