Vitiate

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /ˈvɪʃ.i.eɪt/

Definitions

1. To undermine the effectiveness or integrity of an entity, impacting its quality or validity in a significant manner
2. To damage or spoil the inherent value of something by introducing flaws or imperfections that reduce its overall effectiveness
3. To reduce the strength or quality of something so that it no longer functions as intended ; To corrupt or spoil the moral character or purity of someone or something

Etymology: "Vitiate" comes from Latin "vitiatus," the past participle of "vitiare," meaning "to damage or spoil." That verb in turn grew from "vitium," a word meaning "fault" or "blemish," which is also the root of the English "vice." So the word began as a physical notion of spoiling something, and its modern sense of making something less valid is a figurative extension of that idea of damage. The link to "vice" is the surprising part. A flaw in a thing and a moral failing in a person both fall under the same Latin concept of defect, so the two English words share an ancestor even though they now sound and feel quite different. A contract or argument that is vitiated has been marred by some defect, much as a cloth could once be spoiled by a stain.

Synonyms: invalidate, corrupt

Antonyms: validate, strengthen