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taint

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verb

Synonym Chooser

How does the verb taint contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of taint are contaminate, defile, and pollute. While all these words mean "to make impure or unclean," taint stresses the loss of purity or cleanliness that follows contamination.

tainted meat
a politician's tainted reputation

When would contaminate be a good substitute for taint?

While in some cases nearly identical to taint, contaminate implies intrusion of or contact with dirt or foulness from an outside source.

water contaminated by industrial wastes

When can defile be used instead of taint?

The words defile and taint are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, defile implies befouling of what could or should have been kept clean and pure or held sacred and commonly suggests violation or desecration.

defile a hero's memory with slanderous innuendo

When is pollute a more appropriate choice than taint?

Although the words pollute and taint have much in common, pollute, sometimes interchangeable with contaminate, distinctively may imply that the process which begins with contamination is complete and that what was pure or clean has been made foul, poisoned, or filthy.

the polluted waters of the river

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of taint
Noun
When positioned in the right spot, the arm can tease your testicles as well as your perineum (also known as your taint). Jake Henry Smith, Glamour, 24 Jan. 2025 Such stories also give permission to new forms, while protecting designs from too strong a taint of faddishness, or of strenuous icon-making. Ian Parker, The New Yorker, 20 Jan. 2025
Verb
In her motion to close the pre-trial hearings, Smith argued coverage discussing evidence that could be tossed in the future as inadmissible could further taint a jury. Cristóbal Reyes, The Orlando Sentinel, 28 Mar. 2025 In its letter, the committee said that Albanese’s rhetoric tainted both the U.N. as an institution and her own position. Rachel Wolf, FOXNews.com, 5 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for taint
Recent Examples of Synonyms for taint
Noun
  • The Laundress makes a ton of other luxury laundry products, like a stain remover pretreatment, wool and cashmere spray, and a static-reducing fabric softener.
    Annie Blackman, Allure, 18 Apr. 2025
  • Join the 20,000 customers who recently bought the compact cleaning gadget to tackle stains, pet messes, and dirt on carpets and upholstery.
    Isabel Garcia, People.com, 18 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • Until Henry momentarily excuses himself from the table, that is, and the person or persons behind these winky-wink messages tell her to poison Henry ASAP or the menacing guy currently hiding in her apartment will kill her boy.
    David Fear, Rolling Stone, 10 Apr. 2025
  • Calls to poison control centers for pediatric melatonin ingestion increased 530 percent between 2012 and 2021, according to one analysis published by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
    ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 8 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • Seventy percent of the beaches in Gaza are polluted with sewage because of the lack of electricity, preventing them from treating wastewater.
    Troy Aidan Sambajon, Christian Science Monitor, 1 Apr. 2025
  • And while housing grows increasingly unaffordable, homeless camps have exploded, spilling into city parks, crowding sidewalks, and polluting sensitive waterways, despite unprecedented public spending.
    Angela Hart, CBS News, 26 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • The ink blots of the past 20 years are dried all over Metal Gear Solid Delta.
    Ashley Bardhan, Rolling Stone, 6 Feb. 2025
  • How To Get Pen Out Of Clothes Pet Stains Remove any solids and blot wet areas with a paper towel.
    Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 28 Oct. 2024
Verb
  • Dodge won't spoil the surprise by confirming if the last one will be based on the Charger or the Challenger (or maybe both), but the evidence suggests the latter is more likely.
    Jack Fitzgerald, Car and Driver, 13 Feb. 2023
  • Farmers’ broiler chickens suffocate, and dairy products spoil.
    Monica Mark, The Christian Science Monitor, 10 Feb. 2023
Verb
  • If somehow they had been left out for too long or contaminated before they were frozen—by a dirty prep area or dirty utensils, for example—the freezing process does not kill the pathogens that can cause foodborne illnesses.
    Taylor Tobin, Southern Living, 18 Apr. 2025
  • But it has also been badly contaminated by the chemical manufacturing industry.
    Li Cohen, CBS News, 15 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • Anti-mask laws worsen the stigma mask-wearers already face.
    N. Goldberg, New York Daily News, 9 Apr. 2025
  • Prostate cancer, when detected early, can often be treated successfully, yet many men delay or avoid testing due to misconceptions and stigma.
    Corein Carter, Forbes.com, 8 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • The dashboard was part of an extended pressure campaign from Buttigieg, who, during his tenure in the Biden administration, publicly challenged the major carriers to improve service and transparency—particularly after a summer marred by cancellations and flight delays.
    Bailey Berg, AFAR Media, 8 Apr. 2025
  • Indeed, Delaney’s personal life has been marred by what appears to be a pretty entrenched drinking problem, which has affected her career and led to very un-Diane Russell-like brushes with the law, the Daily Mail and other outlets have reported.
    Martha Ross, Mercury News, 1 Apr. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Taint.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/taint. Accessed 22 Apr. 2025.

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