One common word in our usage is immaculate. This means spotless or free from blemish. If one has a close look at our word under consideration, maculated, one would realize that this words sounds extremely similar to immaculate. the difference is only in the ‘im’. The reason behind this similarity is that both come from the same source: the Latin root ‘macul-, maculat-’ meaning ‘spot, mark, stain, blot or blemish’ (As you might have inferred, the prefix im- in these cases means ‘not’).
The dictionary definitions for MACULATE are as follows:
1. To spot, blemish, or pollute. (verb)
2. Spotted or blotched. (adjective)
3. Stained; impure. (adjective)
Masters Tip to remember MACULATE:
Remember the cheetah pants people wear: they are the maculated ones!
Usage Examples for MACULATE:
1. Children are often in the habit of maculating their dresses.
2. But the tears and blood which follow violence and wrong maculate the pages of history on which their glory is recorded. -Hidden Treasures Or, Why Some Succeed While Others Fail
3. Because the notion of blackness has been made equivalent to sin: maculate vs. immaculate, the staining of purity.
