Kirletmek

Kirletmek is a Turkish verb meaning to dirty or soil something, and can also mean to contaminate or tarnish, including a person’s reputation. It is a transitive verb used to describe making a surface dirty or causing pollution, as well as figurative dirt, such as damaging honor or integrity.

Etymology and form: kirletmek is formed from the root kir, meaning dirt, with the causative suffix -et- and the infinitive suffix -mek. The base verb kirlenmek means to become dirty, whereas kirletmek denotes the act of making something dirty or causing a state of dirtiness. The verb can appear in various forms to agree with subject and object, and is commonly used with direct objects in both physical and figurative contexts.

Usage notes: physically, kirletmek describes dirtying clothing, objects, or environments. Examples include: “Çamaşırları kirlettin” (You dirtied/soiled the clothes) and “Bana ait olan yerleri kirlettiniz” (You dirtied the places that belong to me). figuratively, it is used to indicate tarnishing reputation or integrity, as in “ismini kirletmek” (to sully one’s name) or “şehrin adını kirletmek” (to stain the city’s name). The term carries a negative valuation and is commonly found in everyday speech, media reporting, and literary language.

Related terms: kirlenmek (to become dirty), kirli (dirty), lekelemek and leklemek (to stain). The nuance between kirletmek and leklemek is similar, with leklemek often emphasizing stains or marks as well as moral blemish in some contexts.