as in damaged
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1
as in marred
to affect slightly with something morally bad or undesirable
a single indiscretion blemished the rabbi's reputation for years
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in injured
to reduce the soundness, effectiveness, or perfection of
a scratch blemished the finish on the car
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of blemished
Don Sweeney, Sacbee.com, 21 Jan. 2026
Its blemished surface hints at its violent origin deep within the Earth's mantle.
—Arkansas State Parks, Arkansas Online, 19 Aug. 2025
That’s because pantries like Friendly Hands often receive offers from truck drivers to unload pallets of food, like blemished fruit rejected from grocery stores, but without a loading dock, pantries sometimes have to refuse or are unable to store the items.
—Laura Tillman, Hartford Courant, 6 Aug. 2025
Until the world contains only liberal democracies, Washington can hardly avoid seeking blemished friends.
—Hal Brands, Foreign Affairs, 20 Feb. 2024
Throop returned to his hometown in 1990 to take stock of its blemished environment.
—Steve Marble, Los Angeles Times, 13 Dec. 2022
More to the point, where does Ohio State belong when ranking an increasing list of blemished records?
—Nathan Baird, cleveland, 10 Oct. 2021
Ensuring that doesn't happen will require finding better ways to clean up blemished images — and that takes time and money.
—Jackie Wattles, CNN, 2 July 2020
But perhaps the bigger question is how someone with such a blemished resume got the job in the first place.
—Ramona Giwargis, The Mercury News, 5 May 2017
Pj Green
october 20, Kansas City Star, 20 Oct. 2025
Reputational damage occurs when a business’s name is blemished in some manner.
—Emily Reynolds, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2025
Adjective
Scarred and blemished grapefruits and blood oranges are falling off his trees, Schmidt told KSEE.
—Don Sweeney, Sacbee.com, 21 Jan. 2026
Its blemished surface hints at its violent origin deep within the Earth's mantle.
—Arkansas State Parks, Arkansas Online, 19 Aug. 2025
That’s because pantries like Friendly Hands often receive offers from truck drivers to unload pallets of food, like blemished fruit rejected from grocery stores, but without a loading dock, pantries sometimes have to refuse or are unable to store the items.
—Laura Tillman, Hartford Courant, 6 Aug. 2025
Until the world contains only liberal democracies, Washington can hardly avoid seeking blemished friends.
—Hal Brands, Foreign Affairs, 20 Feb. 2024
Throop returned to his hometown in 1990 to take stock of its blemished environment.
—Steve Marble, Los Angeles Times, 13 Dec. 2022
More to the point, where does Ohio State belong when ranking an increasing list of blemished records?
—Nathan Baird, cleveland, 10 Oct. 2021
Ensuring that doesn't happen will require finding better ways to clean up blemished images — and that takes time and money.
—Jackie Wattles, CNN, 2 July 2020
But perhaps the bigger question is how someone with such a blemished resume got the job in the first place.
—Ramona Giwargis, The Mercury News, 5 May 2017
Verb
Shawnee’s local government, including the City Council, has been blemished by controversy for more than a decade.
—Pj Green
october 20, Kansas City Star, 20 Oct. 2025
Reputational damage occurs when a business’s name is blemished in some manner.
—Emily Reynolds, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for blemished
Adjective
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Celebrity hairstylist Sami Knight recommends focusing on products that support scalp health and strengthen the hair fibers — like the Epres bond repair treatment, which can repair and fortify damaged strands.—
Rebecca Strong,
USA Today,
10 Feb. 2026
-
Take the plant from its pot and cut away any dead or damaged roots, then repot the plant in fresh soil.—
Karen Brewer Grossman,
Southern Living,
10 Feb. 2026
Verb
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But more recently, Clark’s tenure has been marred by dissent and distractions.—
Hannah Keyser,
CNN Money,
19 Feb. 2026
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The abrupt withdrawal of Microsoft's co-founder dealt a fresh blow to a flagship event already marred by organisational lapses, a robot row and complaints of traffic chaos.—
Aditya Soni,
USA Today,
19 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The pained look on the freshman’s face and the hush of the Galen Center in those first few seconds was enough to transport at least some of the USC faithful in the crowd back to last March, when Trojan superstar JuJu Watkins injured her knee not far from the same spot.—
Ryan Kartje,
Los Angeles Times,
20 Feb. 2026
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The roughly 20-meter space rock caused a powerful airburst that injured about 1,500 people and damaged thousands of buildings.—
Marley Malenfant,
Austin American Statesman,
19 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Today, our broken hearts have been lifted at the news that no one is above the law, not even royalty.—
Laura Trujillo,
USA Today,
21 Feb. 2026
-
In February 2025, NASA hired an independent team to determine why the mission failed, examining everything from broken hardware to leadership mistakes.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
20 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Money has tainted so much of sports these days, but the ideal of the Olympics, and playing for your country, still has not lost its power to convince fans that sports can be pure.—
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
22 Feb. 2026
-
That means every angle needs to be screen-ready and not tainted by equipment, crew or the director.—
Tribune News Service,
Baltimore Sun,
19 Feb. 2026
Verb
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None of this will be shocking to anyone who’s lived in an American city crippled by disinvestment and self-dealing—or even to anyone who’s watched a David Simon show on HBO.—
Rachel Monroe,
New Yorker,
18 Feb. 2026
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Measles is endemic in Somalia, where war and international aid cuts have crippled the medical system, and elsewhere in East Africa where residents here often travel.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
6 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Melling’s scenes all took place in the objectively less exciting muggle universe, occurring along a fairly straightforward arc from spoiled bully to remorseful young adult.—
Jackson McHenry,
Vulture,
20 Feb. 2026
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Violations included spoiled ice cream, expired tacos, warm dairy drinks and plumbing issues.—
Laura Daniella Sepulveda,
AZCentral.com,
20 Feb. 2026
Verb
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However, stuffing stinky or stained items away for months is a surefire way to permanently damage them.—
Nafeesah Allen,
Better Homes & Gardens,
20 Feb. 2026
-
Moldy plastic food containers can be reused after proper cleaning unless they are cracked, pitted, or heavily stained by mold.—
Mary Marlowe Leverette,
The Spruce,
19 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Blemished.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/blemished. Accessed 23 Feb. 2026.
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