as in marring
to affect slightly with something morally bad or undesirable
a false accusation that nonetheless tarnished her reputation
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in contamination
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of tarnishing
Brian Steinberg, Variety, 21 Aug. 2025
The tourism hub is lined with hotels, restaurants, shops and entertainment spots, but the council says lewd messages sprawled across the backsides of storefront mannequins and tongue-in-cheek T-shirts are tarnishing the area’s wholesome image.
—Michael Dorgan, FOXNews.com, 14 Aug. 2025
Looming over all of it has been the sad, enervating situation with Alexander Isak, forever enshrined as a club legend by dint of Wembley last season but now beyond the point of tarnishing that legacy.
—George Caulkin, New York Times, 10 Aug. 2025
Noun
The decision has vexed supporters of the program and of journalism in general, who charged Paramount executives risked tarnishing a media brand that has long sought to hold power to account and to probe events with an independent lens.
—Brian Steinberg, Variety, 21 Aug. 2025
The tourism hub is lined with hotels, restaurants, shops and entertainment spots, but the council says lewd messages sprawled across the backsides of storefront mannequins and tongue-in-cheek T-shirts are tarnishing the area’s wholesome image.
—Michael Dorgan, FOXNews.com, 14 Aug. 2025
Looming over all of it has been the sad, enervating situation with Alexander Isak, forever enshrined as a club legend by dint of Wembley last season but now beyond the point of tarnishing that legacy.
—George Caulkin, New York Times, 10 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tarnishing
Verb
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Boston comes in with three straight losses marring otherwise agreeable vibes.—
Steven Louis Goldstein,
New York Times,
21 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Lithium batteries, other toxic material elevate risk Rahn pointed to lithium batteries in electric vehicles as a new source of contamination, which historically wasn’t a major concern.—
William Melhado,
Sacbee.com,
11 Sep. 2025
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And if there's a bite mark, chances are some contamination has happened because animals can carry bacteria and parasites in their saliva.—
Amy Brightfield,
Better Homes & Gardens,
11 Sep. 2025
Verb
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And around all this, the whiff of Epstein is tainting the president's achievements.—
Kate Plummer,
MSNBC Newsweek,
10 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Dylan O’Brien stans might have already seen Twinless, the movie that got leaked because his die-hards couldn’t resist spoiling a major scene from it out of Sundance.—
Savannah Salazar,
Vulture,
5 Sep. 2025
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Shelf-stable items are often the most plentiful in Burmese grocery stores in Milwaukee since they can be shipped across the world without refrigeration or concerns about spoiling.—
Sophie Carson,
jsonline.com,
4 Sep. 2025
Noun
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But some scientists, while endorsing the need to drastically reduce planet-heating pollution, warned against cutting off research into polar geoengineering.—
Laura Paddison,
CNN Money,
9 Sep. 2025
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The strategy focuses on five pillars, including climate action, and a long-term goal to eliminate the discharge of hazardous chemicals, preventing wastewater and air pollution, and enabling the recovery of water and chemistry across the supply chain.—
Angela Velasquez,
Sourcing Journal,
9 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Sherrilyn McQueen, who has published more than 80 novels that reached the New York Times bestseller list under the name Sherrilyn Kenyon, first accused her ex-husband Lawrence Kenyon of poisoning her in a lawsuit in 2019, a year after her husband filed for divorce.—
Evan Mealins,
The Tennessean,
10 Sep. 2025
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Symptoms of salmonella poisoning Symptoms of salmonella infection usually start six hours to six days after swallowing the bacteria.—
Mary Walrath-Holdridge,
USA Today,
10 Sep. 2025
Verb
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But the bigger picture for Iran’s oil revenue is darkening as other potential buyers hang back.—
Ian Bremmer,
Time,
14 Sep. 2025
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Flowers are typically pale blue to lavender, darkening along the midrib and toward the tip of each petal.—
Kim Toscano,
Southern Living,
24 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Dental Hygiene Products Ingredients in some oral hygiene products can contribute to tooth staining.—
Ann Pietrangelo,
Verywell Health,
8 Sep. 2025
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Tips To Keep Your Towels Mascara-Free The best way to keep makeup from staining towels is by thoroughly removing the makeup first.—
Brandee Gruener,
Southern Living,
8 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Tarnishing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tarnishing. Accessed 16 Sep. 2025.
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