taint

¹

[teynt]

noun

1. a trace of something bad, offensive, or harmful.

   Synonyms: stain, blemish, spot, fault, flaw, defect

2. a trace of infection, contamination, or the like.

3. a trace of dishonor or discredit.

4. Obsolete.,  color; tint.

verb (used with object)

1. to modify by or as if by a trace of something offensive or deleterious.

2. to infect, contaminate, corrupt, or spoil.

   Synonyms: poison, pollute, defile

3. to sully or tarnish (a person's name, reputation, etc.).

   Synonyms: stain, dishonor

4. Obsolete.,  to color or tint.

verb (used without object)

1. to become tainted; spoil.

taint

²

Or t'aint

noun

Slang: Vulgar.

1. the area between the testicles or vulva and the anus; the perineum.

taint

/ teɪnt /

verb

1. to affect or be affected by pollution or contamination

   oil has tainted the water

2. to tarnish (someone's reputation, etc)

noun

1. a defect or flaw

   a taint on someone's reputation

2. a trace of contamination or infection

Other Word Forms

• taintless adjective
• untainting adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of taint¹

First recorded in 1325–75; conflation of Middle English taynt, shortened variant of attaint “struck, attainted,” past participle of attainten “to convict” ( attaint ), late Middle English taynt “hue, tint” ( tint ), from Anglo-French teint or directly from Latin tinctus, equivalent to ting(ere) “to dye, color“ ( tinge ) + -tus suffix of verb action); and teinte, from Late Latin tincta “inked stroke,” noun use of feminine of past participle of tingere

Origin of taint²

First recorded in 1955–60; casual pronunciation of it ain’t (the one or the other), i.e., it is the area in between

Word History and Origins

Origin of taint¹

C14: (influenced by attaint infected, from _attain ) from Old French teindre to dye, from Latin tingere to dye

Example Sentences

By doing so, however, the Philadelphia Phillies designated hitter averted a certain controversy and cries that his accomplishment was tainted.

From Los Angeles Times

The audio, published by ABC 7, sparked anger and frustration from the brothers’ relatives and their attorney, who accused the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation of leaking the audio and tainting Lyle’s hearing.

From Los Angeles Times

The jury for her joint trial with Sollecito was never sequestered, guaranteeing the barrage of outrageous fallacies surrounding the proceedings tainted their judgment.

From Salon

The former first minster had already successfully taken legal action against the government in 2019 over its mishandling of complaints against him, with the probe ruled to be "tainted with apparent bias".

From BBC

In 2019, a judicial review concluded that the Scottish government's investigation into Salmond's alleged misconduct was unlawful, unfair and tainted by apparent bias.

From BBC

Related Words

• besmirch 
• blight 
• cloud 
• corrupt 
• damage 
• discredit 
• harm 
• hurt 
• infect 
• muddy 
• poison 
• pollute 
• smear 
• spoil 
• stain 
• sully 
• tar 
• tarnish