1
as in to taint
to affect slightly with something morally bad or undesirable
her poor choice of companions stained her reputation somewhat
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to paint
to give color or a different color to
stained the table to look like cherry
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in to dirty
to make dirty
oil stained his work pants
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in blot
a mark of guilt or disgrace
the stain of this cowardly act would haunt him for the rest of his career
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of stain
Sammy Loren, Los Angeles Times, 26 Mar. 2026
And long-term, bat oils and droppings can stain a home and create preconditions for mold.
—Caden Perry, jsonline.com, 24 Mar. 2026
Maryna Holovnova, New Atlas, 31 Mar. 2026
Each pad features scrubbing strips that work hard to remove grime and stains and, when combined with a premixed solution, thoroughly clean floors.
—Bestreviews, Chicago Tribune, 30 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for stain
Verb
Phillipe’s teeth were often as wine-stained as his customers’.
—Sammy Loren, Los Angeles Times, 26 Mar. 2026
And long-term, bat oils and droppings can stain a home and create preconditions for mold.
—Caden Perry, jsonline.com, 24 Mar. 2026
Noun
Any accidental stains on the skin can be wiped off easily.
—Maryna Holovnova, New Atlas, 31 Mar. 2026
Each pad features scrubbing strips that work hard to remove grime and stains and, when combined with a premixed solution, thoroughly clean floors.
—Bestreviews, Chicago Tribune, 30 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for stain
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stain
Verb
-
Of course, at the heart of it was the man himself, a deeply polarizing music icon whose years-long tirades against everyone from Jewish people to his peers tainted a legacy that once seemed unimpeachable.—
Steven J. Horowitz,
Variety,
2 Apr. 2026
-
Increasingly, judges are opting to sanction lawyers who submit briefs tainted by AI errors, Moylan said, sometimes fining those who refuse to admit wrongdoing or referring them to their state’s bar association for disciplinary actions.—
Sharon Bernstein,
Sacbee.com,
1 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The student section held up a cardboard cutout of Johnson painted with a clown face.—
Sean Hammond,
Chicago Tribune,
3 Apr. 2026
-
Her long nails were painted cherry red to match the bandana, and her signature blonde hair was worn down in her usual style.—
Juliana Ukiomogbe,
InStyle,
3 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
But as filming continued, Pidgeon appeared to dirty her butter blond with caramel and chocolate shades similar to Bessette-Kennedy’s, thanks to stylist Kari Hill.—
Kaleigh Werner,
Footwear News,
25 Feb. 2026
-
With the help of your Instant Pot, spaghetti and meatballs come together in under an hour without dirtying multiple dishes.—
Jenna Sims,
Southern Living,
24 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
But the blot on Sacramento State’s basketball resume is the road record.—
Joe Davidson,
Sacbee.com,
5 Mar. 2026
-
The left-back has started 123 of the last 125 games and 86 of the last 87, with the blot on his card arriving late last season when manager Oliver Glasner rested key players after Palace won the FA Cup.—
Gregg Evans,
New York Times,
2 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Laser hair removal relies on pigment in the hair root to absorb light energy and disable the follicle.—
Leslie Baumann,
Miami Herald,
1 Apr. 2026
-
Not only does the light-as-air foam's violet pigment tone hair, the formula removes metals and minerals that cause brassiness and uses a polymer to stop additional metals and minerals from reattaching to strands.—
Jackie Fields,
PEOPLE,
1 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Their reunion tour — which was somehow not marred by any type of familial controversy — sold out stadiums around the world and overexcelled in every conceivable way, setting the template for what the future of band reunions could look like and solidifying their legacy.—
Devon Ivie,
Vulture,
2 Apr. 2026
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Ancient lava fields can be seen as dark lunar maria marring the silvery lunar surface, which themselves are threaded with bright streaks of reflective debris strewn across the surface by violent asteroid strikes.—
Anthony Wood,
Space.com,
2 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Even our stories of growth can dangerously color our relationship to resilience.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
31 Mar. 2026
-
While the movie has some fun asking whether people actually want to know everything about their partners (a devil’s bargain since time immemorial), its real interest lies in how that knowledge is colored by who shares it.—
David Ehrlich,
IndieWire,
31 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Grace, her white lace dress blackened with blood, is smoking a cigarette outside of an incinerated mansion that belongs to her in-laws, the Le Domas, who are all dead.—
Amy Nicholson,
Los Angeles Times,
19 Mar. 2026
-
The Israeli strikes on oil facilities sparked massive pillars of fire and blackened the skies above Tehran.—
NPR Staff,
NPR,
11 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Stain.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stain. Accessed 4 Apr. 2026.
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