defile vs flatter

defile

verb
  • To make (someone or something) morally impure or unclean; to corrupt, to tarnish. 

  • To make (someone or something) physically dirty or unclean; to befoul, to soil. 

  • Synonym of defilade (“to fortify (something) as a protection from enfilading fire”) 

  • To act inappropriately towards or vandalize (something sacred or special); to desecrate, to profane. 

  • To cause (something or someone) to become ritually unclean. 

noun
  • A narrow passage or way (originally (military), one which soldiers could only march through in a single file or line), especially a narrow gorge or pass between mountains. 

  • A single file of soldiers; (by extension) any single file. 

  • An act of marching in files or lines. 

  • An act of defilading a fortress or other place, or of raising the exterior works in order to protect the interior. 

flatter

verb
  • To portray someone to advantage. 

  • To compliment someone, often (but not necessarily) insincerely and sometimes to win favour. 

  • To enhance someone's vanity by praising them. 

  • To encourage or cheer someone with (usually false) hope. 

noun
  • Someone who flattens, purposely or accidently. Also flattener. 

  • Someone who lives in a rented flat. 

  • A type of set tool used by blacksmiths. 

  • A flat-faced fulling hammer. 

  • A drawplate with a narrow, rectangular orifice, for drawing flat strips such as watch springs. 

How often have the words defile and flatter occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )