vitiate
12 synonyms and 11 antonyms for vitiate, grouped by meaning and by how common each one is.
Verb — To spoil something or lower its quality or usefulness.
Synonyms
Less common
Still standard English, but they carry more weight.
Rare, literary or technical
Precise, but they will stand out — check the sense before using one.
Synonyms by Meaning
1. verb
To spoil something or lower its quality or usefulness.
“Unfortunately, as Anderson and Sørenson (1996) and Bowsher (2002) document, instrument proliferation can vitiate the test.”
Opposites
3. verb
To make something invalid or no longer effective.
“After the trials, Turkey's secular elite was completely vitiated.”
Opposites
Etymology
PIE word *dwóh₁ From Latin vitiātus, the perfect passive participle of vitiō (“damage, spoil”), from vitium (“vice”).
Full origin of vitiate →