as in stains
a mark of guilt or disgrace
that rare political campaign that wasn't marred by the taint of false accusations
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in spoils
to affect slightly with something morally bad or undesirable
criticism of her sister's singing that was tainted by envy a tendency toward conceitedness taints the athlete's status as a role model
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in pollutes
to make unfit for use by the addition of something harmful or undesirable
smog has long tainted the air of the city, making it difficult to breathe
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of taints
Ryan Gajewski, HollywoodReporter, 29 Sep. 2025
Verb
The film centered on the Environmental Protection Agency encasing the Simpsons’ hometown of Springfield in a dome after Homer taints the area’s water supply.
—Recent Examples of Synonyms for taints
Noun
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Snag it in black, white, green, blue, or maple or walnut wood stains in sizes ranging from 4 by 4 inches to 8 by 10 inches.—
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Additional Tips Avoid using hairspray to clean nail polish stains.—
Verb
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Conveniently located close to iconic sights, the downtown hotel spoils with a rooftop pool, buzzy restaurant, and bar in a sensory-rich, art-laden setting.—
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Pre-cut produce also spoils quicker and could pick up pathogens when sliced open.—
Verb
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For example, forum participants said a person could sue a company or entity that pollutes a river because the river has the right to be pollution-free.—
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But to isolate gold, galamsey workers typically use poisonous mercury, which pollutes drinking water and farmland and has been linked to serious illness and birth defects.—
Verb
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The picture exudes both grace and vulnerability, and hints at imperfection by way of a disconcerting, coral-like wrinkle that mars the foot’s heel.—
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Deadly holiday weekend mars broad crime drop The back-and-forth followed a Labor Day weekend of deadly violence in Chicago worse than in the previous two years, with seven people shot to death, according to preliminary Chicago Police Department reports.—
Noun
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Wight says that this process can be done using a small Q-tip to transfer pollen from the anthers to the stigmas.—
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Many japonica camellias, in the manner of other botanical hybrids, are sterile with their yellow, thread-like stamens and stigmas either absent or invisible.—
Verb
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Every night from January 2 – 4, the super Wolf Moon can be seen in the eastern sky as the sky darkens, rising higher and moving southward as midnight draws near, according to BBC Sky at Night Magazine.—
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Ash-like material darkens the air, coming out of the giant cracks in the world Vecna ripped open by using the lives of four people, including the now-comatose Max, to open four gates from the Upside Down.—
Verb
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Everything Martha Stewart touches ultimately ends up with great critical acclaim, and this serum will not be an exception.—
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Running backs with 300-plus touches the previous season don’t generally repeat that volume the following season.—
Verb
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Crowe believes that Maximus fathering a son with a woman other than his wife tarnishes his character's legacy, as the gladiator's primary motivation in the original film is to avenge the deaths of his wife and son.—
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This tarnishes my view of Dean.—
Cite this Entry
“Taints.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/taints. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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