vitiate
verb
William Styron
Did you know?
If you’re itching to find fault with the word vitiate, you don’t have to look far—the word comes ultimately from the Latin noun vitium, which refers to a fault, vice, shortcoming, or impediment to success or perfection. Accordingly, vitiate—like its fellow vitium-descended v-words vituperate ("to use harsh, condemning language"), vicious, and vice—has a negative bent. To vitiate something is, essentially, to mar or damage it in some way, whether by ruining or spoiling it ("a joke vitiated by poor timing"), corrupting it morally ("a mind vitiated by prejudice"), or rendering it null or ineffective ("fraud that vitiates a contract"). Despite its versatility, vitiate is most effective when used in formal speech and writing; that is to say, those who drop it into a construction like "a sandwich vitiated by too much peanut butter" may find themselves subject to some mild vituperation.
Synonyms
Examples of vitiate in a Sentence
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
And, especially relevant to Edelman in this case: Is it vitiated by bad motives?
—Jesse Green, New York Times, 27 June 2023
His arguments were later challenged by critics who argued that new information and communication technologies vitiated the advantages of corporate size and hierarchical control.
—Barry Eichengreen, Foreign Affairs, 6 Sep. 2022
See all Example Sentences for vitiate 
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Dictionary Entries Near vitiate
Cite this Entry
“Vitiate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vitiate. Accessed 19 Aug. 2024.
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vitiate
verb
Legal Definition
vitiate
transitive verb
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