1
as in marring
to affect slightly with something morally bad or undesirable
criticism of her sister's singing that was tainted by envy a tendency toward conceitedness taints the athlete's status as a role model
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in polluting
to make unfit for use by the addition of something harmful or undesirable
smog has long tainted the air of the city, making it difficult to breathe
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of tainting
Brandy, a 90s R&B mainstay, lied about marrying her daughter’s father in the early aughts for fear of tainting her stardom.
—
Deasia Paige, AJC.com, 4 June 2026
Protagonist Jo’s mother disappeared when Jo was a teen, tainting her daughter with the stain of possible witchcraft.
—Literary Hub, 2 June 2026
At a time of intensifying divisions at home, a depiction of Ecuador could offer an Edenic, new-world landscape free from the partisanship tainting Church’s New England landscapes.
—Sebastian Smee, New Yorker, 4 May 2026
Now, streaming is tainting the postseason.
—Troy Renck, Denver Post, 15 Apr. 2026
Played by cisgender actress Kathleen Turner, Charles proved to be one of the more divisive characters from Friends, tainting its cultural legacy for some critics.
—Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 16 Feb. 2026
Infected people and dogs had to be prevented from tainting water sources.
—Dan Raby, CBS News, 30 Jan. 2026
Judges typically allow for questioning of prospective jurors who may have a bias separately from the larger pool of jurors to avoid tainting others.
—John Diedrich, jsonline.com, 12 Dec. 2025
And there's also issues of tainting the jury pool.
—Stepheny Price , Michael Ruiz , Adam Sabes , Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, FOXNews.com, 11 Dec. 2025
Deasia Paige, AJC.com, 4 June 2026
Protagonist Jo’s mother disappeared when Jo was a teen, tainting her daughter with the stain of possible witchcraft.
—Literary Hub, 2 June 2026
At a time of intensifying divisions at home, a depiction of Ecuador could offer an Edenic, new-world landscape free from the partisanship tainting Church’s New England landscapes.
—Sebastian Smee, New Yorker, 4 May 2026
Now, streaming is tainting the postseason.
—Troy Renck, Denver Post, 15 Apr. 2026
Played by cisgender actress Kathleen Turner, Charles proved to be one of the more divisive characters from Friends, tainting its cultural legacy for some critics.
—Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 16 Feb. 2026
Infected people and dogs had to be prevented from tainting water sources.
—Dan Raby, CBS News, 30 Jan. 2026
Judges typically allow for questioning of prospective jurors who may have a bias separately from the larger pool of jurors to avoid tainting others.
—John Diedrich, jsonline.com, 12 Dec. 2025
And there's also issues of tainting the jury pool.
—Stepheny Price , Michael Ruiz , Adam Sabes , Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, FOXNews.com, 11 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tainting
Verb
-
Use place mats or tablecloths on your kitchen table to keep food spills, condensation from drinks, and utensils from marring or staining the surface.—
Karen Brewer Grossman,
Southern Living,
29 May 2026
-
In Strasbourg, groups of Palace supporters clashed among themselves in a square in the city centre, marring the occasion.—
Matt Woosnam,
New York Times,
28 May 2026
Verb
-
And putting data centers into orbit may help companies avoid the community backlash against data centers and the sometimes polluting power plants installed to run them on Earth.—
Ashley Capoot,CJ Haddad,Samantha Subin,Lora Kolodny,
CNBC,
12 June 2026
-
Meta has denied that its Georgia data center is polluting waters.—
Ashley Belanger,
ArsTechnica,
12 June 2026
Verb
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Republicans have long held on to hope that Valadao might be able to hold on to his San Joaquin Valley district, spoiling Democratic hopes for a flip there.—
Kevin Rector,
Los Angeles Times,
11 June 2026
-
The sheets will absorb excess moisture, which will prevent your fruits and veggies spoiling quickly.—
Melissa Locker,
Southern Living,
3 June 2026
Verb
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Lewis was accused of poisoning two white female housemates, assaulted by a white mob in response to the charge, and acquitted in court, only to then be accused of stealing art supplies and prohibited from reënrolling.—
Zachary Fine,
New Yorker,
8 June 2026
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It was also used in a separate supply-chain attack poisoning dozens of Red Hat packages.—
Dan Goodin,
ArsTechnica,
8 June 2026
Verb
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Natural stone can be more involved; it should be sealed before grouting and can require upkeep to protect against staining.—
Angelika Pokovba,
Martha Stewart,
12 June 2026
-
Keep in mind that heat can also contribute to staining.—
Jessica Safavimehr,
Southern Living,
12 June 2026
Verb
-
Until the 1990s, the power company disposed of over 1 million tons of coal ash in an unlined storage area in Pines, later contaminating the groundwater that supplied the town of 700.—
Christiana Freitag,
Chicago Tribune,
13 June 2026
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Humans, on the other hand, are almost like an invasive species, with air filters lining the floors changing out all of the factory’s air in just a single minute to make sure those bags of flesh and blood don’t release too many contaminating particles.—
Victor Tangermann,
Futurism,
10 June 2026
Verb
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Ever since her father left the fort almost a whole season ago, walking off into the darkening blue hills with both his hounds, never to return, her mother has taken to these long and aimless searches, sometimes with Brith and sometimes without.—
Maggie O’Farrell,
Literary Hub,
2 June 2026
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Its trio, a lonely fox-deer, an axolotl apprentice healer and a red panda Viking, travel through a darkening natural world as the series folds identity, belonging and environmental crisis.—
Callum McLennan,
Variety,
1 June 2026
Verb
-
Siri carried out this choreography without the user ever touching an app.—
Eric Sullivan,
Scientific American,
9 June 2026
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But as is fitting for a filmmaker pushing 80, awestruck innocence now co-exists with a more ruminative maturity, especially when touching on the secrecy, manipulation and deception of governmental power.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
9 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Tainting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tainting. Accessed 16 Jun. 2026.
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