as in to taint
to affect slightly with something morally bad or undesirable
a false accusation that nonetheless tarnished her reputation
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of tarnish
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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Wesley Stenzel, Entertainment Weekly, 9 Dec. 2025
Man, Mike’s rep is getting more tarnished by the day.
—Noel Murray, Vulture, 7 Dec. 2025
Meanwhile, James' legacy won't be tarnished by a misstep in scoring, as he's still considered by many to be the greatest basketball player on the planet, and by many others, the greatest of all time.
—Matthew Couden, MSNBC Newsweek, 5 Dec. 2025
Geeta Bakshi, a former CIA officer who served in Afghanistan, said that her former Afghan colleagues are distraught that one of their countrymen is accused of having attacked Americans and that the entire community of Afghan veterans could be tarnished by the shooter’s horrific actions.
—Rich Schapiro, NBC news, 4 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tarnish
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tarnish
Verb
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Lawyers also argued the conviction should be overturned because the verdict was tainted by the media attention and due to faulty instructions to the jury.—
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Just as one bite of a cookie might not happen to contain chocolate chips, one small sample of drugs might not include fentanyl even if the larger supply is tainted, the agency’s website explains.—
Verb
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This dynamic marred the 2012-13 Hurricane Sandy package and has recurred in other disaster bills, not because relief is illegitimate but because speed plus political cover invites provisions that would die in regular order.—
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Sook’s comments followed Nexstar’s report of quarterly results, which were marred by the absence of political advertising compared with the same quarter in 2024.—
Verb
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Pluribus crackles with terrific comic tension as Carol wakes up next to her dead partner, filled with grief yet spoiling for a fight.—
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Without spoiling too much, the two-minute clip finds Carol weathering ample concern for her less-than-cheery demeanor.—
Verb
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This mixture attacks stains a bit stronger than the water solution.—
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While new doors can cost anywhere from several hundred to thousands of dollars, staining, painting, and weather stripping can be done for under $150, according to O'Reilly.—
Verb
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According to other accounts, some white residents believed Makandal and his allies were behind a plot to poison the water supply in all the houses in the city of Le Cap.—
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In a recent study, however, researchers at Yale found that interoception helped mice avoid poisoning themselves.—
Verb
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Legal challenges looming The financial outlook could darken further depending on the judicial branch.—
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This higher temperature darkens the paste, slightly caramelizes the sugar, and deactivates enzymes that would otherwise break down pectin, resulting in a thicker, more cooked-tasting product.—
Cite this Entry
“Tarnish.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tarnish. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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