as in stains
a mark of guilt or disgrace
that rare political campaign that wasn't marred by the taint of false accusations
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in spoils
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
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in pollutes
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 taints
Marc Weingarten,
Los Angeles Times,
8 June 2026
The sarcasm taints the question but doesn’t invalidate it.
—
Sara Holdren,
Vulture,
24 Mar. 2026
The film centered on the Environmental Protection Agency encasing the Simpsons’ hometown of Springfield in a dome after Homer taints the area’s water supply.
—
Ryan Gajewski,
HollywoodReporter,
29 Sep. 2025
Verb
That’s been an idiotic trope for too long — that participating in the business side of it taints you.
—
Marc Weingarten,
Los Angeles Times,
8 June 2026
The sarcasm taints the question but doesn’t invalidate it.
—
Sara Holdren,
Vulture,
24 Mar. 2026
The film centered on the Environmental Protection Agency encasing the Simpsons’ hometown of Springfield in a dome after Homer taints the area’s water supply.
—
Ryan Gajewski,
HollywoodReporter,
29 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for taints
Noun
-
Textra 11 Apex is not trying to replace a heavy-duty carpet extractor, and Fanttik is clear that it is not intended for stubborn, set-in stains or pet hair removal.
-
The lids are made with Rubbermaid’s BPA-free StainShield plastic, which resists odors and stains without warping in the dishwasher.
Verb
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Even worse, some streams lag so far behind live that a text from a friend or app notification spoils a game-changing goal.
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Alphabet, Microsoft, Nvidia, OpenAI and the sundry other rivals for the AI spoils can’t all grab a couple of points of GDP in sales, the prize built into SpaceX’s celestial cap.
Verb
-
Unless the energy powering data centers comes from clean energy sources, such as solar, wind or geothermal, generating that electricity also pollutes the air.
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Meanwhile, the unceasing churn of clothing, footwear and accessories depletes soils, poisons the water, pollutes the air, drives deforestation, accelerates biodiversity loss and generates runaway planet-warming emissions that undermine brands’ lofty environmental ambitions.
Noun
-
Dabbing the cloth in rubbing alcohol, working away the dirty blots on the glass, waiting for the haze in my head to focus, and a new line to come to me.
-
One of the few blots on last summer’s Leeds copybook.
Verb
-
In the film, Cady also poisons the family dog, Benjamin.
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The bait poisons the entire colony, including the queen, so no new ants can be produced.
Noun
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The whole project ties together as a powerful critique of modern mental health stigmas and sexism, as history's witch hunts were byproducts of multiple layers of prejudice and misunderstanding.
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Social-media platforms are filled with short-form videos that clumsily grapple with stigmas surrounding height supremacy.
Verb
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Jacob Whitehead Homophobic chant mars Mexico’s win Before the World Cup, the Mexican football federation launched a campaign that featured the heroes of the country’s 1986 World Cup side.
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No sadness mars the purity of its paranoia.
Verb
-
Reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring often, until mixture darkens slightly, about 3 minutes.
-
Citizen scientists are invited to build their own instrument to measure changes that occur in the atmosphere when the sky momentarily darkens.
Cite this Entry
“Taints.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/taints. Accessed 27 Jun. 2026.
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