attaint
Americanverb (used with object)
-
Law. to condemn by a sentence or a bill or act of attainder.
-
to disgrace.
-
Archaic. to accuse.
-
Obsolete. to prove the guilt of.
noun
verb
-
to pass judgment of death or outlawry upon (a person); condemn by bill of attainder
-
to dishonour or disgrace
-
to accuse or prove to be guilty
-
(of sickness) to affect or strike (somebody)
noun
-
a less common word for attainder
-
a dishonour; taint
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of attaint
1250–1300; Middle English ataynte, derivative of ataynt convicted < Anglo-French, Old French, past participle of ataindre to convict, attain
Vocabulary lists containing attaint
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.
They were wholesomely housed in healthful places, and they were clad fitly for their labor and fitly for their leisure; the caprices of vanity were not suffered to attaint the beauty of the national dress.
From A Traveler from Altruria: Romance by William Dean Howells
The Versaillese want more than the body; they must attaint the rebellious mind, surround it with an atmosphere of stench and vice, in order to make it fail and founder.
From History of the Commune of 1871 by P. Lissagary
And the knight was inclined to attaint his lady for a certain cruelty in the matter; she was being something less than fair to the Unspeakable Perk.
From The Unspeakable Perk by Samuel Hopkins Adams
The defendant, when sued in England on a bill, pleaded the attaint of the plaintiff, who had received the pardon of Macquarie.
From The History of Tasmania , Volume II by John West
Beaming in beauty, supreme in virtue, the resplendent aegis of truth shields her from attaint!
From Anna St. Ives by Thomas Holcroft
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
