The word Defile and the word Pollute share the same central sense in the context tested by the question, although usage, tone and grammatical form should still be checked before substituting one for the other. A synonym is not required to be identical in every possible sentence; it must preserve the intended meaning in the relevant context. Here, replacing Defile with Pollute keeps the core idea intact without reversing the tone or changing the action, quality or state expressed by the target word. The alternatives Immense, Hasty and Cruel do not express the same central meaning as Defile. This distinction matters because competitive examinations often place one accurate synonym beside three familiar but contextually unsuitable words. If the sentence retains its essential meaning and grammatical structure, the synonym relationship is supported. Learners should revise Defile together with Pollute, a brief usage cue and the contrasting distractors.