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Another word for taint

a-z
Verb

  1. To become or cause to become rotten or unsound

    Idioms:
    See also:

    thrive

    better

  2. To make morally impure

      1. The top layer of the earth's surface in which plants can grow, consisting of rock and mineral particles mixed with decayed organic matter and having the capability of retaining water.
      2. A particular kind of earth or ground:
      3. Country; land:
      1. To make unfit for or harmful to living things, especially by the addition of waste matter.
      2. To make less suitable for an activity, especially by the introduction of unwanted factors:
      3. To render impure or morally harmful; corrupt:
      1. To invade and proliferate in, often resulting in disease. Used of microorganisms or other infectious agents:
      2. To cause the invasion of (a cell, for example) with a microorganism or other infectious agent:
      3. To transmit a pathogen or disease to:
      1. To make filthy or dirty; pollute:
      2. To debase the pureness or excellence of; corrupt:
      3. To profane or sully (a reputation, for example).
      1. Marked by immorality and perversion; depraved.
      2. Venal or dishonest:
      3. Containing errors or alterations, especially ones that prevent proper understanding or use:
      1. To make impure or unclean by contact or mixture.
      2. To expose to or permeate with radioactivity.
      3. To influence the semantic properties or phonological form of (a word or phrase); blend with:
    See also:

    clean

  3. To contaminate the reputation of

      1. To dull the luster of; discolor, especially by exposure to air or dirt:
      2. To detract from or spoil:
      3. To bring disgrace to; sully:
      1. To mar the cleanness or luster of; soil or stain.
      2. To defile; taint:
      3. Something that stains or spots.
      1. To discolor, soil, or spot:
      2. To bring into disrepute; taint or tarnish:
      3. To change the color of (a piece of wood, for example) by applying a stain.
      1. To scatter (a liquid, for example) in drops or small amounts:
      2. To spot, splash, or soil with drops or small amounts:
      3. To strike or land on in a dispersed way:
      1. The top layer of the earth's surface in which plants can grow, consisting of rock and mineral particles mixed with decayed organic matter and having the capability of retaining water.
      2. A particular kind of earth or ground:
      3. Country; land:
      1. A particle of dirt or soot:
      2. A smudge made by soot, smoke, or dirt.
      3. Sexually explicit or prurient language or material, such as books or movies.
      1. To make dirty, especially in one small area:
      2. To smear or blur (something):
      3. To fill (an orchard or an inhabited area) with dense smoke from a smudge pot in order to prevent damage from frost or to repel insects.
      1. To spread or daub (a surface, for example) with a sticky, greasy, or dirty substance.
      2. To apply by spreading or daubing:
      3. To cause to be blurry or spread in unwanted places:
      1. Covered or marked with dirt or an unwanted substance; unclean.
      2. Spreading dirt; polluting:
      3. Apt to soil with dirt or grime:
      1. To attack the character or reputation of; speak ill of; defame:
      2. To disparage; belittle:
      1. A visible body of very fine water droplets or ice particles suspended in the atmosphere at altitudes ranging up to several miles above sea level.
      2. A mass of particles or droplets, as of dust, smoke, or steam, suspended in the atmosphere or existing in outer space.
      3. A large moving body of things in the air or on the ground; a swarm:
      1. To make black.
      2. To sully or defame:
      3. To coat (fish or meat, for example) with pepper and other spices and then quickly sear in a very hot skillet, thereby producing meat that is black on the outside but tender on the inside.
      1. To stain; sully:
      2. To make dirty; soil.
      1. To make dirty; soil.
      2. To cast aspersions upon; speak badly of.
    Idioms:
    See also:

    clean

    attack

Noun

  1. A mark of discredit or disgrace

      1. To impart a stigma to; disgrace:
      2. To pass a sentence of attainder against.
      3. To infect or corrupt, as with illness or vice.
      1. To dull the luster of; discolor, especially by exposure to air or dirt:
      2. To detract from or spoil:
      3. To bring disgrace to; sully:
      1. An association of disgrace or public disapproval with something, such as an action or condition:
      2. A visible indicator of disease.
      3. A small bodily mark, especially a birthmark or scar, that is congenital or indicative of a condition or disease.
      1. To discolor, soil, or spot:
      2. To bring into disrepute; taint or tarnish:
      3. To change the color of (a piece of wood, for example) by applying a stain.
      1. A mark on a surface differing sharply in color from its surroundings.
      2. A blemish, mark, or pimple on the skin.
      3. A stain or blot.
      1. A difficult or disagreeable responsibility or necessity; a burden or obligation.
      2. Responsibility for an error or fault; blame:
      3. The burden of proof:
      1. A spot or a stain caused by a discoloring substance:
      2. An association of disgrace with one's character or reputation.
      3. The Northern, Southern, or Western blot analyses.
      1. A small mark that makes the appearance of something less attractive.
      2. An imperfection that mars or impairs; a flaw.
      3. To cause to have a small mark or marks that diminish attractiveness:
      1. A bruised discoloration of the flesh surrounding the eye, often resulting from a blow.
      2. A blow to one's reputation; a source of dishonor.
    Idioms:
    See also:

    respect

    marks

© Roget’s II: The New Thesaurus Copyright © 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Another word for taint

Verb

  1. To pollute

      1. To undergo decomposition, especially organic decomposition; decay.
      2. To become damaged, weakened, or useless because of decay:
      3. To disappear or fall by decaying:
      1. To invade and proliferate in, often resulting in disease. Used of microorganisms or other infectious agents:
      2. To cause the invasion of (a cell, for example) with a microorganism or other infectious agent:
      3. To transmit a pathogen or disease to:
      1. To impair or destroy the value or quality of; ruin:
      2. To harm the character of (a child) by overindulgence or leniency.
      3. To plunder; despoil.
    See also:

    decay

    contaminate

  2. To corrupt

    See also:

    contaminate

    corrupt

© WEBSTER’S NEW WORLD® ROGET’S A-Z THESAURUS by Charlton Laird and the editors of Webster’s New World dictionaries. Copyright © 1999 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Sentence Examples

  • It might taint Fred's open mind.

  • There is always a taint of feeling in man's goodness.

  • That he came from the mortal world rather than the Immortal one had left a taint on him that no amount of success could get rid of.

  • Mecca itself was taken; plundering was forbidden, but the tombs of the saints and all objects of veneration were ruthlessly destroyed, and all ceremonies which seemed in the eye of the stern puritan conqueror to suggest the taint of idolatry were forbidden.

  • At the present day, "usury," if used in the old sense of the term, would embrace a multitude of modes of receiving interest upon capital to which not the slightest moral taint is attached.

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Words that mention taint in the Dictionary

Words near taint in the Thesaurus