defloration

[ def-luh-rey-shuhn, dee-fluh- ]

/ ˌdɛf ləˈreɪ ʃən, ˌdi flə- /

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noun

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

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Origin of defloration

1350–1400; Middle English defloracioun<Old French defloracion<Late Latin dēflōrātiōn- (stem of dēflōrātiō) a plucking of flowers, equivalent to dēflōrāt(us) (past participle of dēflōrāre to deflower) + -iōn--ion

Words nearby defloration

deflection yoke, deflective, deflexed, deflocculant, deflocculate, defloration, deflower, defluxion, defo, defocus, Defoe

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use defloration in a sentence

A girl may suffer most severely, alike morally and socially, even though defloration has not been effected.
The Sexual Life of the Child|Albert Moll
Martineau118 reports cases in which defloration had been effected at the age of nine or ten years.
The Sexual Life of the Child|Albert Moll
The lust of fornication is more grievous, as it verges to the desire of varieties and of defloration.
The Delights of Wisdom Pertaining to Conjugial Love|Emanuel Swedenborg
The lust of fornication is more grievous as it verges to the desire of varieties and of defloration, n. 454.
The Delights of Wisdom Pertaining to Conjugial Love|Emanuel Swedenborg

Soone after came her invisible servants, and presented to her such things as were necessary for her defloration.
The Golden Asse|Lucius Apuleius

British Dictionary definitions for defloration

defloration

/ (ˌdiːflɔːˈreɪʃən) /

noun

the act of deflowering

Word Origin for defloration

C15: from Late Latin dēflorātiō; see de-, flower

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012