Link Centre Dictionary

maculate

ma·cu·late

UK/ˈmækjʊleɪt/ US/ˈmækjʊlət/ uncommon archaic obsolete
adjective (2) verb (2)

adjective

1.
2.

spotted or blotched

Similar

verb

1.

make dirty or spotty, as by exposure to air; also used metaphorically

  • “The silver was tarnished by the long exposure to the air”
  • “Her reputation was sullied after the affair with a married man”
Synonyms
2.

spot, stain, or pollute

  • “The townspeople defiled the river by emptying raw sewage into it”
Synonyms

Origin

First attested during the last quarter of the 15th century, in Middle English; inherited from Middle English maculaten (“to spoil, polute”), borrowed from Latin maculātus, perfect passive participle of maculō (“to spot”), see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and -ate (adjective-forming suffix).

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Narrower terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.