as in unpolished
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as in marred
to affect slightly with something morally bad or undesirable
a false accusation that nonetheless tarnished her reputation
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Recent Examples of tarnished
Lauren Wicks, Southern Living, 18 Dec. 2025
The election chaos represents the culmination of an increasingly tarnished human rights record by Tanzania in recent months, with all eyes on international observers and countries following the polls.
—Martin K.n Siele, semafor.com, 31 Oct. 2025
For many people in the country, and certainly critics of the royal family, these moves might not be enough to rehabilitate the monarchy’s tarnished reputation.
—Max Foster, CNN Money, 31 Oct. 2025
Before essentially becoming a tarnished player, Rozier starred at the University of Louisville for two seasons before becoming the 16th overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft.
—Ryan Morik, FOXNews.com, 24 Oct. 2025
Farmers in Jenkins County, like many farmers, face numerous insect infestations, including stink bugs, cotton bollworms, corn earworms, tarnished plant bugs and aphids.
—Atin Adhikari, The Conversation, 23 Sep. 2025
Newer companies promising noble causes, in contrast, are not tarnished—or less tarnished, at least—which also appeals to idealistic young workers.
—Dave Smith, Fortune, 29 Aug. 2025
Smollett also attributed his drive to rebuild his career despite his tarnished reputation to his desire to inspire his future children.
—Alyssa Davis, People.com, 24 Aug. 2025
If anything, China is rising to the challenge of Arctic development made possible by failures in the West to fully develop its own remote Arctic territories, and to fully transcend its tarnished colonial histories.
—Barry Scott Zellen, Hartford Courant, 18 Aug. 2025
Charlie Campbell, Time, 28 Jan. 2026
Old Pots and Pans Christian says Bar Keepers Friend does an amazing job at bringing old and tarnished pots and pans back to life, whether they are made of stainless steel, aluminum, enamel, or copper.
—Maria Sabella, The Spruce, 27 Jan. 2026
Treasured childhood memory tarnished by soul-crushing trauma?
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 27 Jan. 2026
Most football fans are sick of being tarnished by the behaviour of a minority.
—James Pearce, New York Times, 23 Jan. 2026
The ensuing political turmoil and power vacuum in the country tarnished its international image and rattled its diplomacy and financial markets.
—CNN Money, 22 Jan. 2026
All these changes have tarnished college sports.
—Sheldon H. Jacobson, Chicago Tribune, 21 Jan. 2026
The notion of reputational damage is alien to someone whose image was long ago tarnished beyond repair by grifting, lying, bullying, and double-dealing.
—Eliot A. Cohen, The Atlantic, 19 Jan. 2026
The ideas of Chávez, a charismatic figure who inspired a generation of Latin American leftists, have been irrevocably tarnished, Krauze said.
—Ian James, Los Angeles Times, 19 Jan. 2026
Adjective
Try The Polish Test Use a clean, soft cloth to rub the tarnished silver.
—Lauren Wicks, Southern Living, 18 Dec. 2025
The election chaos represents the culmination of an increasingly tarnished human rights record by Tanzania in recent months, with all eyes on international observers and countries following the polls.
—Martin K.n Siele, semafor.com, 31 Oct. 2025
For many people in the country, and certainly critics of the royal family, these moves might not be enough to rehabilitate the monarchy’s tarnished reputation.
—Max Foster, CNN Money, 31 Oct. 2025
Before essentially becoming a tarnished player, Rozier starred at the University of Louisville for two seasons before becoming the 16th overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft.
—Ryan Morik, FOXNews.com, 24 Oct. 2025
Farmers in Jenkins County, like many farmers, face numerous insect infestations, including stink bugs, cotton bollworms, corn earworms, tarnished plant bugs and aphids.
—Atin Adhikari, The Conversation, 23 Sep. 2025
Newer companies promising noble causes, in contrast, are not tarnished—or less tarnished, at least—which also appeals to idealistic young workers.
—Dave Smith, Fortune, 29 Aug. 2025
Smollett also attributed his drive to rebuild his career despite his tarnished reputation to his desire to inspire his future children.
—Alyssa Davis, People.com, 24 Aug. 2025
If anything, China is rising to the challenge of Arctic development made possible by failures in the West to fully develop its own remote Arctic territories, and to fully transcend its tarnished colonial histories.
—Barry Scott Zellen, Hartford Courant, 18 Aug. 2025
Verb
Just as those revolutionary murals have sun-bleached and blistered, so the heady jubilation of the students’ victory has become tarnished by infighting and division.
—Charlie Campbell, Time, 28 Jan. 2026
Old Pots and Pans Christian says Bar Keepers Friend does an amazing job at bringing old and tarnished pots and pans back to life, whether they are made of stainless steel, aluminum, enamel, or copper.
—Maria Sabella, The Spruce, 27 Jan. 2026
Treasured childhood memory tarnished by soul-crushing trauma?
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 27 Jan. 2026
Most football fans are sick of being tarnished by the behaviour of a minority.
—James Pearce, New York Times, 23 Jan. 2026
The ensuing political turmoil and power vacuum in the country tarnished its international image and rattled its diplomacy and financial markets.
—CNN Money, 22 Jan. 2026
All these changes have tarnished college sports.
—Sheldon H. Jacobson, Chicago Tribune, 21 Jan. 2026
The notion of reputational damage is alien to someone whose image was long ago tarnished beyond repair by grifting, lying, bullying, and double-dealing.
—Eliot A. Cohen, The Atlantic, 19 Jan. 2026
The ideas of Chávez, a charismatic figure who inspired a generation of Latin American leftists, have been irrevocably tarnished, Krauze said.
—Ian James, Los Angeles Times, 19 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tarnished
Adjective
-
Zamiri’s style is well suited for the project, with parts of it reading like an extended music video, while the more documentary-like scenes have an unpolished feel.—
Ellise Shafer,
Variety,
22 Jan. 2026
-
Where oversized, chunky, rounded silhouettes read as frumpy and unpolished, this does the exact opposite.—
Kaelin Dodge,
InStyle,
13 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
The annual loss for California marked the first yearly decline for the state since March 2021, according to the EDD, a period marred by severe job losses that arose from an array of business shutdowns and economic dislocations as a result of the pandemic.—
George Avalos,
Mercury News,
23 Jan. 2026
-
Geothermal energy solutions have been around for a while, though, and have been marred by location specificity, high water usage, and high initial costs.—
Ameya Paleja,
Interesting Engineering,
22 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Lawyers also argued the conviction should be overturned because the verdict was tainted by the media attention and due to faulty instructions to the jury.—
CNN Money,
CNN Money,
6 Jan. 2026
-
Just as one bite of a cookie might not happen to contain chocolate chips, one small sample of drugs might not include fentanyl even if the larger supply is tainted, the agency’s website explains.—
Angie Leventis Lourgos,
Chicago Tribune,
5 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
The liquid stained Omar's clothes and may have reached her eye.—
Aki Nace,
CBS News,
29 Jan. 2026
-
In testing on human teeth that were artificially stained with tea and coffee, the researchers found that a total of four hours of brushing showed visible whitening, while 12 total hours of brushing led to teeth that were nearly 50% whiter than those in a control group.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
27 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
The iron in it will turn white cars a dingy yellow over time.—
Ian Frazier,
New Yorker,
19 Jan. 2026
-
For most other people, winter just grinds on, with dingy snowdrifts melting into puddles that will freeze into ice slicks.—
Beth Botts,
Chicago Tribune,
17 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Prosecutors allege Richins poisoned her husband with a cocktail laced with illicit fentanyl while the couple was celebrating at their home in March 2022.—
Stepheny Price,
FOXNews.com,
27 Jan. 2026
-
In early 2025, Milwaukee discovered that lead paint had poisoned at least four students in its public schools.—
Hanna Rosin,
The Atlantic,
22 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Her days are patterned, quiet, and slow; her toys make no clattering sounds, the nursery is decorated only in soothing, dim colors.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
28 Jan. 2026
-
The bed is surrounded by almost 360 degrees of glass, and schools of fish, octopus and squid regularly travel by (at night, dim lights are activated to attract nocturnal marine life).—
Catherine Garcia,
TheWeek,
28 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Fans were spoiled with 12 tracks of retro-inspired, plushy pop — and as the rollout suggested, the tracks painted a greater picture of Carpenter’s arduous dating experience, brought to life with production and writing support from acclaimed collaborators Jack Antonoff, John Ryan and Amy Allen.—
Meghan Mahar,
Billboard,
26 Jan. 2026
-
Chief on the film’s mind is what happens when the relative innocence of that blush of first infatuation — neither boy seems particularly troubled by his proclivity — is spoiled by outside forces, like family and the church.—
Richard Lawson,
HollywoodReporter,
24 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Tarnished.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tarnished. Accessed 31 Jan. 2026.
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