VITIATING

Verb

vitiating

present participle of vitiate

Source: Wiktionary


VITIATE

Vi"ti*ate, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Vitiated; p. pr. & vb. n. Vitiating.] Etym: [L. vitiatus, p. p. vitiare to vitiate, fr. vitium a fault, vice. See Vice a fault.] [Written also viciate.]

1. To make vicious, faulty, or imperfect; to render defective; to injure the substance or qualities of; to impair; to contaminate; to spoil; as, exaggeration vitiates a style of writing; sewer gas vitiates the air. A will vitiated and growth out of love with the truth disposes the understanding to error and delusion. South. Without care it may be used to vitiate our minds. Burke. This undistinguishing complaisance will vitiate the taste of readers. Garth.

2. To cause to fail of effect, either wholly or in part; to make void; to destroy, as the validity or binding force of an instrument or transaction; to annul; as, any undue influence exerted on a jury vitiates their verdict; fraud vitiates a contract.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

10 March 2025

FABLED

(adjective) celebrated in fable or legend; “the fabled Paul Bunyan and his blue ox”; “legendary exploits of Jesse James”


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Coffee Trivia

The first coffee-house in Mecca dates back to the 1510s. The beverage was in Turkey by the 1530s. It appeared in Europe circa 1515-1519 and was introduced to England by 1650. By 1675 the country had more than 3,000 coffee houses, and coffee had replaced beer as a breakfast drink.

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