taint
1 Americannoun
verb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
noun
verb
-
to affect or be affected by pollution or contamination
oil has tainted the water
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to tarnish (someone's reputation, etc)
noun
-
a defect or flaw
a taint on someone's reputation
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a trace of contamination or infection
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
have taintedperfect
-
has taintedperfect 3rd person singular
-
have been taintingperfect progressive
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are taintingprogressive
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has been taintingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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is taintingprogressive 3rd person singular
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am taintingprogressive 1st person singular
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taintssingular 3rd person
-
taintingparticiple
Past
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had taintedperfect
-
were taintingprogressive plural
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had been taintingperfect progressive
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was taintingprogressive singular
-
taintedsimple
-
taintedparticiple
Future
Etymology
Origin of taint1
First recorded in 1325–75; conflation of Middle English taynt, shortened variant of attaint “struck, attainted,” past participle of attainten “to convict” ( see attaint), late Middle English taynt “hue, tint” ( see tint), from Anglo-French teint or directly from Latin tinctus, equivalent to ting(ere) “to dye, color“ ( see tinge) + -tus suffix of verb action); and teinte, from Late Latin tincta “inked stroke,” noun use of feminine of past participle of tingere
Origin of taint2
First recorded in 1955–60; casual pronunciation of it ain’t (the one or the other), i.e., it is the area in between
Explanation
Taint means to contaminate. If you don’t want to taint your drinking water, don’t use an old gas can as a water pitcher. Tainting something makes it impure. To taint something is to spoil or corrupt it, whether it’s water, food, or even a person’s soul. These days, taint gets in the news if a company accidentally taints meat with salmonella bacteria, for example. If you add something poisonous to a substance, you taint it. A silly person might say when you taint something, t’aint right.
Vocabulary lists containing taint
Metaphors from Top AP English Exam Novels
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Monster
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "T"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Case May Taint Jury Mr. Rajaratnam is the central figure in the government’s vast investigation into insider trading on Wall Street.
From New York Times • Mar. 4, 2011
It said, Taint it,' and I answered, Taint it?'
From Time Magazine Archive
Taint no luck on this place, Roskus said.
From "The Sound and the Fury" by William Faulkner
Taint no gun in de world ever kilt dat many mens.
From De Turkey and De Law A Comedy in Three Acts by Hurston, Zora Neale
Rather a lark after mess; got young B. down and christened him "Violet de Parme," while Jackson played "Taint all lavender."
From Our Battalion Being Some Slight Impressions of His Majesty's Auxiliary Forces, in Camp and Elsewhere by Raven-Hill, Leonard
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
