stain

1 to affect slightly with something morally bad or undesirable her poor choice of companions stained her reputation somewhat Synonyms blemish, darken, mar, poison, spoil, taint, tarnish, touch, vitiateRelated Words begrime, besmear, besmirch, blacken, blur, cloud, dirty, discolor, pollute, smear, smirch, smudge, smut, soil, sully, tar; abase, cheapen, debase, degrade, demean, discredit, disgrace, dishonor, foul, lower, shame, sink; bastardize, corrupt, debauch, demoralize, deprave, pervert, subvert; color, distort, twistNear Antonyms cleanse, purify; dignify, elevate, ennoble, enshrine, glorify, hallow, magnify, uplift

2 to give color or a different color to stained the table to look like cherry Synonyms bepaint [archaic], dye, paint, pigment, color, tincture, tinge, tintRelated Words brighten, lighten; darken, embrown, tone (down); checker, dapple, daub, fleck, marble, mottle, pattern, polychrome, speck, speckle, streak, striate, stripe, variegateNear Antonyms blanch, bleach, whitenAntonyms decolorize

3 to make dirty oil stained his work pants Synonyms befoul, begrime, bemire, besmirch, blacken, daub, distain [archaic], foul, gaum [dialect], grime, mire, muck, muddy, smirch, smudge, soil, dirty, sullyRelated Words contaminate, defile, pollute, taint; discolor; confuse, disarrange, disarray, dishevel, disorder, draggle, jumble, mess, muddle; colly [chiefly British dialect], crock [dialect]Near Antonyms decontaminate, purge, purify; disinfect, sanitize; brush, dry-clean, dust, launder, mop, rinse, scour, scrub, sweep, wash, wipe; brighten, deodorize, freshen, renew, spruce (up); straighten (up), tidy (up)Antonyms clean, cleanse

1 a mark of guilt or disgrace the stain of this cowardly act would haunt him for the rest of his career Synonyms blot, brand, onus, slur, smirch, smudge, spot, stigma, taint Related Words black eye, discredit, disesteem, disgrace, dishonor, disrepute, guilt, ignominy, infamy, obloquy, odium, opprobrium, reproach, shame; corruption, debauchery, depravity, immorality, iniquity, licentiousness, sin, unscrupulousness, vice Near Antonyms award, credit, honor; chasteness, chastity, modesty, purity, stainlessness; good, right; honesty, integrity, legitimacy, probity, rectitude, scrupulousness, uprightness; goodness, righteousness, virtuousness; fame, glory, renown, repute

2 a substance used to color other materials applied several coats of stain to the wood Synonyms color, colorant, coloring, dye, dyestuff, pigmentRelated Words tint, toner; cast, hue, shade, tinge