tarnish

verb tar·nish \ ˈtär-nish \

Updated on: 22 Apr 2018

Definition of tarnish

transitive verb

1 : to dull or destroy the luster of by or as if by air, dust, or dirt : soil, stain

2 a : to detract from the good quality of : vitiate

his fine dreams now slightly tarnished

b : to bring disgrace on : sully

the scandal has tarnished his reputation

intransitive verb

: to become tarnished

—

tarnishable

play \ˈtär-ni-shə-bəl\ adjective

See tarnish defined for English-language learners

See tarnish defined for kids

Examples of tarnish in a Sentence

Some foods will tarnish silver.
The scandal tarnished his reputation.

Recent Examples of tarnish from the Web

The client may harbor concern that he or she will be tarnished by guilt by association.

— james freeman, WSJ, "The Hannity Standard," 19 Apr. 2018
So far the photo sharing service hasn’t been much tarnished by the backlash over its parent company's mishandling of user data.

— taylor antrim, Vogue, "Is Drake’s "Nice for What" A Problem for Instagram?," 13 Apr. 2018
Oregon Project coach Alberto Salazar and his athletes are being tarnished by unproven accusations supported only by anecdote, innuendo and circumstance.

— OregonLive.com, "Portland will have an outsized presence at the Boston Marathon: Oregon track & field rundown," 13 Apr. 2018
Children shipped off to the Industrial School immediately began trying to escape, tarnishing its reputation and threatening its funding.

— gary kamiya, San Francisco Chronicle, "Corrupt, inhumane reform school was SF’s first form of juvenile justice," 16 Mar. 2018
The overwhelming majority of law enforcement officers are good and decent people, but their reputations and ability to do their jobs effectively are tarnished by a small number of bad officers who don’t deserve to wear a badge.

— ben jealous, The Root, "Beyond ‘the Talk’: How I Plan to Address Police Violence Against Black Communities," 13 Mar. 2018
To that end, Ayton could argue that his personal brand has been unfairly tarnished by untrue accusations about his character.

— michael mccann, SI.com, "Sean Miller's Statement Takes the Fight to ESPN: Is a Lawsuit the Next Step?," 1 Mar. 2018
Others in Guarujá, though, said there was no other alternative to Mr. da Silva in a country where the entire political class has been tarnished by the Car Wash scandal.

— luciana magalhaes and samantha pearson, WSJ, "For Sale: Apartment Once Owned by Former Brazilian President Convicted of Bribery," 4 Apr. 2018
In his imagining, King's moral appeal is too global to be tarnished by domestic changes in US politics.

— john blake, CNN, "The question that haunts Martin Luther King's last day in Memphis," 3 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'tarnish.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of tarnish

Middle English ternysshen, from Middle French terniss-, stem of ternir, probably of Germanic origin; akin to Old High German tarnan to hide

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

See Words from the same year

tarnish Synonyms

Synonyms

blemish, darken, mar, poison, spoil, stain, taint, touch, vitiate;

Near Antonyms

cleanse, purify;

dignify, elevate, ennoble, enshrine, glorify, hallow, magnify, uplift;

abase, cheapen, debase, degrade, demean, discredit, disgrace, dishonor, foul, lower, shame, sink;

bastardize, corrupt, debauch, demoralize, deprave, pervert, subvert;

tarnish

noun

Definition of tarnish

: something that tarnishes; especially : a film of chemically altered material on the surface of a metal (such as silver)

See tarnish defined for English-language learners

Examples of tarnish in a Sentence

a polish that removes tarnish

Recent Examples of tarnish from the Web

Each ornament features a three-dimensional design with a tarnish-resistant silver finish.

— ann norman, cleveland.com, "Lolly the Trolley returns to Medina Candlelight Walk Nov. 17-19," 3 Nov. 2017
Though this is the first time that a defamation suit has centered on a claim of changing gender, past courts have been forced to determine whether being deemed gay tarnishes a reputation.

— kenzie bryant, vanityfair.com, "Richard Simmons’s Loss Could Be Transgender Rights’ Gain," 31 Aug. 2017
With this nifty trick, a chemical reaction causes tarnish to transfer from your silver flatware to the aluminum foil.

— lauren piro, Good Housekeeping, "11 Who-Knew Uses for Aluminum Foil," 28 July 2017
In the midst of all this, the pedigreed Falkeses try to resist the tarnish of the Wolinskis.

— caroline leavitt, New York Times, "Fathers and Sons — and Maybe Two More Sons," 23 June 2017

First Known Use of tarnish

1684

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

Other Metals and Metallurgy Terms

assay, bloom, bullion, ductile, ingot, malleable, patina, plate, temper, tensile

TARNISH Defined for English Language Learners

tarnish

verb

Definition of tarnish for English Language Learners

: to become or cause (metal) to become dull and not shiny
: to damage or ruin the good quality of (something, such as a person's reputation, image, etc.)