tainted; tainting; taints
plural taints
: a contaminating mark or influence
the taint of scandal
plural taints
vulgar slang
: the area between the anus and the posterior part of the external genitalia : perineum
Synonyms
Examples of taint in a Sentence
Verb
criticism of her sister's singing that was tainted by envy
a tendency toward conceitedness taints the athlete's status as a role model
Noun (1)
that rare political campaign that wasn't marred by the taint of false accusations
Recent Examples on the Web
Victor Mather, New York Times, 10 Apr. 2024
But Suu Kyi’s defense of the campaign against the Rohingya didn’t seem to taint her in the eyes of her most ardent Beltway supporters.
—Timothy McLaughlin, The Atlantic, 4 Apr. 2024
Red tides often taint the water red or brown, hence the name.
—Kinsey Crowley, USA TODAY, 7 Mar. 2024
If the test spot turns blue, your drink has been tainted.
—Karen Garcia, Los Angeles Times, 26 Mar. 2024
Where the Bad News Is the Good News: Despite a recession, a shrinking population and politics tainted by corruption, Japan remains remarkably stable and cohesive, with little sense of impending doom or signs of societal discord.
—Kurt Soller Anu Kumar, New York Times, 18 Mar. 2024
From helping to save New York City during the 1907 panic to pulling a gun on a man who had threatened her son, Hetty Green was a complex character whose legacy has, in many ways, been tainted by biased coverage that focused on her miserliness.
—Bywill Daniel, Fortune, 17 Mar. 2024
Even more insidious is the trend to deliberately taint supplies such as counterfeit pills, crudely pressed and sold online or via SnapChat.
—Lisa M. Krieger, The Mercury News, 17 Mar. 2024
Former Justice Department prosecutor Andrew Weissmann said on MSNBC that the way forward is for Willis to voluntarily recuse herself so that anything that happens to her in terms of ethics doesn't taint the case.
—Aysha Bagchi, USA TODAY, 18 Mar. 2024
Peter Baker, New York Times, 15 Feb. 2024
This one went smoothly — no claims of rampant rigging, no significant taint of skulduggery — due in large part to the defeat of deepfakes, democracy’s newest enemy.
—Michael Rogers, Twin Cities, 14 Jan. 2024
There were about 12,000 gallons of Pinot Noir that the winery deemed to be undrinkable because of smoke taint, and fortunately Sardell was able to distill it into brandy that the winemaking team fell in love with.
—Jonah Flicker, Robb Report, 29 Jan. 2024
Yeah, the show has visually referenced the Dark One's taint (on saidin!
—Andrew Cunningham & Lee Hutchinson, Ars Technica, 22 Sep. 2023
This latest misadventure should provide more incentive for the Supreme Court to rule on the underlying questions at issue, and ensure that these extremely consequential ballot decisions are influenced by much more than a taint of legality.
—The Editors, National Review, 30 Dec. 2023
Adults with iPhones have been known to privately snicker to one another when a green bubble taints a group chat.
—Brian X. Chen, New York Times, 29 Nov. 2023
His sudden departure over a previously undisclosed romantic relationship taints that legacy.
—Alexander Gladstone, WSJ, 19 Oct. 2023
The film has always had the taint of a vanity project and remains, as a result, vaguely embarrassing.
—Gal Beckerman, The Atlantic, 7 Nov. 2023
Verb
As professional leagues in many sports started popping up around the world in the 20th century, the Olympics drew a hard line, disqualifying any athletes who were tainted by accepting filthy lucre.
—Victor Mather, New York Times, 10 Apr. 2024
But Suu Kyi’s defense of the campaign against the Rohingya didn’t seem to taint her in the eyes of her most ardent Beltway supporters.
—Timothy McLaughlin, The Atlantic, 4 Apr. 2024
Red tides often taint the water red or brown, hence the name.
—Kinsey Crowley, USA TODAY, 7 Mar. 2024
If the test spot turns blue, your drink has been tainted.
—Karen Garcia, Los Angeles Times, 26 Mar. 2024
Where the Bad News Is the Good News: Despite a recession, a shrinking population and politics tainted by corruption, Japan remains remarkably stable and cohesive, with little sense of impending doom or signs of societal discord.
—Kurt Soller Anu Kumar, New York Times, 18 Mar. 2024
From helping to save New York City during the 1907 panic to pulling a gun on a man who had threatened her son, Hetty Green was a complex character whose legacy has, in many ways, been tainted by biased coverage that focused on her miserliness.
—Bywill Daniel, Fortune, 17 Mar. 2024
Even more insidious is the trend to deliberately taint supplies such as counterfeit pills, crudely pressed and sold online or via SnapChat.
—Lisa M. Krieger, The Mercury News, 17 Mar. 2024
Former Justice Department prosecutor Andrew Weissmann said on MSNBC that the way forward is for Willis to voluntarily recuse herself so that anything that happens to her in terms of ethics doesn't taint the case.
—Aysha Bagchi, USA TODAY, 18 Mar. 2024
Noun
Even when told the history of the slogan, Mr. Trump shrugged off the taint and embraced it as a pithy expression of his worldview.
—Peter Baker, New York Times, 15 Feb. 2024
This one went smoothly — no claims of rampant rigging, no significant taint of skulduggery — due in large part to the defeat of deepfakes, democracy’s newest enemy.
—Michael Rogers, Twin Cities, 14 Jan. 2024
There were about 12,000 gallons of Pinot Noir that the winery deemed to be undrinkable because of smoke taint, and fortunately Sardell was able to distill it into brandy that the winemaking team fell in love with.
—Jonah Flicker, Robb Report, 29 Jan. 2024
Yeah, the show has visually referenced the Dark One's taint (on saidin!
—Andrew Cunningham & Lee Hutchinson, Ars Technica, 22 Sep. 2023
This latest misadventure should provide more incentive for the Supreme Court to rule on the underlying questions at issue, and ensure that these extremely consequential ballot decisions are influenced by much more than a taint of legality.
—The Editors, National Review, 30 Dec. 2023
Adults with iPhones have been known to privately snicker to one another when a green bubble taints a group chat.
—Brian X. Chen, New York Times, 29 Nov. 2023
His sudden departure over a previously undisclosed romantic relationship taints that legacy.
—Alexander Gladstone, WSJ, 19 Oct. 2023
The film has always had the taint of a vanity project and remains, as a result, vaguely embarrassing.
—Gal Beckerman, The Atlantic, 7 Nov. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'taint.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near taint
Cite this Entry
“Taint.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/taint. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
taint
1 of 2 verb1
: to touch or affect slightly with something bad
Legal Definition
taint
transitive verb
: to damage or destroy the validity of
evidence tainted by an illegal search
taint
noun
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