Synonyms
Examples of tarnish in a Sentence
Nathaniel Scharping, Discover Magazine, 4 Apr. 2024
The fraudsters were betting on a lack of outrage when Morrisseau’s reputation was tarnished.
—Jordan Michael Smith, Smithsonian Magazine, 13 Feb. 2024
Rainsy’s image has been tarnished in the past for using a racist term to describe Cambodian citizens of Vietnamese descent.
—Jireh Deng, Los Angeles Times, 3 Apr. 2024
Rumors can tarnish your reputation as Mercury goes retrograde.
—USA TODAY, 1 Apr. 2024
This isn’t an entirely bad thing for Washington: the closer U.S. antagonists get, the more one’s bad behavior tarnishes the others.
—Hal Brands, Foreign Affairs, 29 Mar. 2024
Tarnishing of Easter Today, however, this glorious day has been tarnished and commercialized so much so, that the story of Jesus’ resurrection has become second place to the story of the Easter bunny carrying a basket filled with goodies.
—Bea L. Hines, Miami Herald, 29 Mar. 2024
The brand of Trump has been tarnished in many ways throughout the past several years, but in some circles, it’s never been stronger.
—Hugh McIntyre, Forbes, 27 Mar. 2024
Both Burgos and Stanley Thangaraj, chair for the study of race, ethnicity and social justice at Stonehill College, whose research in part focuses on Asian Americans in sports, mentioned that viewership is likely to grow, but the game itself could be tarnished.
—Kimmy Yam, NBC News, 21 Mar. 2024
Julhas Alam and Al-Emrun Garjon, The Christian Science Monitor, 4 Jan. 2024
Acid breaks down tarnish, and there’s just enough in ketchup to restore the shine.
—Joe Cermele, Outdoor Life, 7 Dec. 2023
The hardware saw some tarnishes after extensive use.
—Madison Yauger, Peoplemag, 20 Oct. 2023
The nylon webbing held up against mud and rain, and though the buckle seemed to have a few tarnishes, the collar maintained an excellent condition.
—Madison Yauger, Peoplemag, 20 Oct. 2023
Lacquer is a thin, shiny layer that helps to prevent tarnish.
—Jessica Bennett, Better Homes & Gardens, 14 Sep. 2022
A little tarnish keeps it from feeling too fussy or precious.
68 of 77
Dress Up Pumpkins
No mess here.
—Southern Living Editors, Southern Living, 4 Sep. 2023
Try baking soda: For heavier tarnish, mix three parts baking soda to one part water.
—Lauren Smith McDonough and Carolyn Forte, Good Housekeeping, 20 Jan. 2021
While Randazzo and former FirstEnergy executives have not been charged with any crimes to date, the lawmakers most likely to carry the tarnish from Householder’s dirty dealing aren’t actually that beholden to Ohio voters.
—Sarah Stankorb, The New Republic, 29 June 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'tarnish.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Verb
Middle English ternysshen, from Middle French terniss-, stem of ternir, probably of Germanic origin; akin to Old High German tarnan to hide
Verb
15th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1
Noun
1684, in the meaning defined above
Phrases Containing tarnish
Dictionary Entries Near tarnish
Cite this Entry
“Tarnish.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tarnish. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
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Kids Definition
tarnish
1 of 2 verb
tarnish
2 of 2 noun
More from Merriam-Webster on tarnish
Nglish: Translation of tarnish for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of tarnish for Arabic Speakers
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about tarnish
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