Showing results for "tainted"

• past participle of taint.
• past tense form of taint.

tainted

American  

[tayn-tid] / ˈteɪn tɪd /

adjective

1. infected, contaminated, corrupted, or spoiled.

   An outbreak of salmonella poisoning linked to eating tainted ground turkey has resulted in several deaths.

2. affected by a trace of something bad, offensive, or harmful.

   We strongly urge you to distance your charitable organization from this discredited project and its tainted money.

3. (of the name, reputation, etc., of a person or group) sullied or tarnished.

   Having such a program available to these students could help fix the tainted reputation many feel our school has earned.

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verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of taint.

Other Word Forms

• untainted
  adjective

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Etymology

Origin of tainted

taint ¹ ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. )

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Explanation

If something's tainted, it's ruined or spoiled. If you leave milk on the counter overnight, it could be tainted. But a charity that uses its funds to buy board members tropical vacations could also be considered tainted. The adjective tainted describes a person or thing that's been touched by rot or corruption. Many think that young minds can become morally tainted by violence on TV. If evidence at a crime scene is handled improperly, it could be considered tainted and can't be used at trial. You've probably heard about foods like spinach and peanut butter being recalled because they have been potentially tainted with salmonella.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

tainted

Victim blaming reflects an often unconscious belief that a survivor’s character is somehow tainted, even when that survivor is a child.

From Slate ● Oct. 26, 2026

Although Allen and the original series’ head writer, Susan Fales-Hill, shaped the show into the version considered a sitcom classic, Bill Cosby’s creator credit tainted its reputation.

From Salon ● Sep. 24, 2026

In a victim impact statement, Morgan's mother Marie Smith said the family now "lives under a shadow", with every major milestone "tainted" without her present.

From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2026

“Being from Drexel, you were tainted a little bit with Milken,” Harris recalled.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 29, 2026

Sometimes the relief was tainted by despair, like my decision to come to Forks.

From "Twilight" by Stephenie Meyer

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Related Words

• contaminated
• corrupted
• dirty
• infected
• polluted
• rotten

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