1Of sacred or pure things — to be defiled, polluted, or made impure. Carries heavy religious, ritual, or moral weight, typically applied to shrines, temples, hearts, or sanctified spaces. A literary register, sharply distinguished from the everyday よごれる (→よごれる) used for physical dirtiness. Because 穢 is not a jōyō kanji, it appears mainly in religious or traditional contexts; elsewhere the word is often written in kana as けがれる. The transitive counterpart is 穢す (けがす).
神社では、穢れた手で社殿に触れてはならないとされる。
At a shrine, one is not to touch the main hall with defiled hands.
古来、日本では死は穢れと結びつけられ、葬儀の後には身を清める習わしがあった。
Since ancient times, death has been associated with ritual impurity in Japan, and there was a custom of purifying oneself after a funeral.
嘘や憎しみで魂が穢れることを恐れた。
He feared that his soul would be defiled by lies and hatred.
聖なる場所が踏み荒らされ、穢れてしまった。
The sacred place was trampled and defiled.