vitiate means to spoil, make faulty; to reduce the value, quality, or effectiveness of something. It carries an Arena rating of 1534, earned across 2 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, vitiate ranks #798 of 17,132 for Most Betrayed by Its Sound, #1,006 of 17,134 for Most Malleable Words, #1,217 of 17,138 for Most Incisive Words, #1,634 of 17,126 for Most Elegant Words.
vitiate is pronounced /ˈvɪʃ.i.eɪt/.
Why “vitiate” is a great word
To impair the quality, effectiveness, or validity of something; to spoil or debase. From Latin vitiātus, past participle of vitiāre ("to damage, spoil"), from vitium ("fault, vice"), first recorded in English use 1525–35. Unlike "corrupt," which suggests a thorough moral perversion, or "invalidate," a precise legal annulment, to vitiate is to introduce a subtle poison, a fatal flaw that undermines the whole. It is the single logical fallacy that collapses an argument, the hidden resentment that turns a generous act sour, or the trace of bitterness that spoils a vintage wine—a quiet diminishment, proving how the smallest error can unravel the grandest design.
Etymology
From Latin vitiātus, the perfect passive participle of vitiō (“damage, spoil”), from vitium (“vice”).
verb
- To spoil, make faulty; to reduce the value, quality, or effectiveness of something.e.g.“The least admixture of a lie, -- for example, the taint of vanity, the least attempt to make a good impression, a favorable appearance, -- will instantly vitiate the effect.” — 1838, Ralph Waldo Emerson, An Address delivered before the Senior Class in Divinity College, Cambridge, Sunday evening, 15 July, 1838:
- To debase or morally corrupt.
- To violate, to rape.
- To make something ineffective, to invalidate.e.g.“[…]all the hinges of the animal frame are subverted, every animal function is vitiated; the carcass retains but just life enough to make it capable of suffering.” — 1734, William Stukeley, Of the Gout, page 78:
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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