untarnished

adjective un·tar·nished \ ˌən-ˈtär-nisht \

Updated on: 19 May 2018

Definition of untarnished

: not dulled or damaged : not tarnished

an untarnished reputation

untarnished copper

Recent Examples of untarnished from the Web

The promise of figures like Gillibrand is that by transcending New York’s immoral political culture, they can also, unlike Schneiderman, become untarnished forces for reform.

— jeet heer, The New Republic, "New York Is the Most Politically Toxic Place in America," 9 May 2018
Arrival The prestige/time-travel/monster movie was a huge hit, and earned director Denis Villeneuve another hit on his so-far untarnished streak of heady, satisfying movies that ask big questions.

— tom philip, GQ, "Hulu Might Be the Best Movie Streaming Website," 3 May 2018
For untarnished jewelry, mix a few drops of mild dish detergent with warm water, and scrub with a soft-bristle toothbrush.

— amanda greene, Woman's Day, "How to Clean Your Jewelry at Home," 8 Mar. 2017
So Meade, a man who has worked in Cabinet for presidents of two different parties, is stressing his own, relatively untarnished record.

— Fox News, "Mexico candidate fights ruling party's tarnished image," 2 Apr. 2018
Not even Marshal Zhukov, the glorious veteran of the Second World War, whose stature remains untarnished today, is spared; Jason Isaacs plays him as a bully with a thick Yorkshire accent.

— jane mayer, The New Yorker, "“The Death of Stalin” Dares to Make Evil Funny," 6 Mar. 2018
The balloon is red and floats there, bright and untarnished, amid the rows of faded waste.

— andy schatschneider, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Every Labor Day weekend, people ride 4 miles between Rome and Sullivan, Wisconsin, in the World's Greatest Junk Parade," 5 Feb. 2018
The results are private—something the authors do note—and so the Greens reputation remains untarnished.

— sarah jones, New Republic, "We’re All Living in Hobby Lobby’s Bible Nation," 13 Oct. 2017
But after the government notched a nearly untarnished win streak of more than 80 insider-trading convictions, the Newman decision overturned two convictions and prompted the office to dismiss charges against several others.

— nicole hong, WSJ, "U.S. Gets Easier Path to Insider-Trading Convictions," 23 Aug. 2017

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