as in marred
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 unpolished
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of tarnished
Mary Catherine McAnnally Scott, Southern Living, 5 Sep. 2025
Newer companies promising noble causes, in contrast, are not tarnished—or less tarnished, at least—which also appeals to idealistic young workers.
—Dave Smith, Fortune, 29 Aug. 2025
Smollett also attributed his drive to rebuild his career despite his tarnished reputation to his desire to inspire his future children.
—Alyssa Davis, People.com, 24 Aug. 2025
If anything, China is rising to the challenge of Arctic development made possible by failures in the West to fully develop its own remote Arctic territories, and to fully transcend its tarnished colonial histories.
—Barry Scott Zellen, Hartford Courant, 18 Aug. 2025
But that image has become tarnished.
—Pamela N. Danziger, Forbes.com, 15 Aug. 2025
Tesla’s brand has been badly tarnished since Musk became involved in politics.
—Jonathan Easley, The Hill, 24 July 2025
Brent Lang, Variety, 5 Sep. 2025
Suarez, one of the greatest strikers of his generation, has a history of disciplinary issues that has tarnished his legacy.
—Michelle Kaufman, Miami Herald, 4 Sep. 2025
Newer companies promising noble causes, in contrast, are not tarnished—or less tarnished, at least—which also appeals to idealistic young workers.
—Dave Smith, Fortune, 29 Aug. 2025
The project has also been tarnished by concerns surrounding governance, societal inequality, corruption and the environmental impact of largescale infrastructure schemes.
—Holly Ellyatt, CNBC, 29 Aug. 2025
Lance Armstrong was one of the most famous athletes in the world before a doping scandal tarnished his career.
—Emily Krauser, People.com, 24 Aug. 2025
If so, will his influence in the upper chamber be tarnished?
—Melissa Brown, The Tennessean, 21 Aug. 2025
Even before the crypto fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried tarnished the name of effective altruism (EA), the movement had backed itself into tight corners.
—Dan Piepenbring, Harpers Magazine, 20 Aug. 2025
Closer to downtown, the beaches were mostly tarnished by litter and construction debris.
—The New York Times News Service Syndicate, San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 Aug. 2025
Verb
If the copper is heavily tarnished, let the toothpaste's active ingredients work on the patina for ten minutes or so before buffing.
—Mary Catherine McAnnally Scott, Southern Living, 5 Sep. 2025
Newer companies promising noble causes, in contrast, are not tarnished—or less tarnished, at least—which also appeals to idealistic young workers.
—Dave Smith, Fortune, 29 Aug. 2025
Smollett also attributed his drive to rebuild his career despite his tarnished reputation to his desire to inspire his future children.
—Alyssa Davis, People.com, 24 Aug. 2025
If anything, China is rising to the challenge of Arctic development made possible by failures in the West to fully develop its own remote Arctic territories, and to fully transcend its tarnished colonial histories.
—Barry Scott Zellen, Hartford Courant, 18 Aug. 2025
But that image has become tarnished.
—Pamela N. Danziger, Forbes.com, 15 Aug. 2025
Tesla’s brand has been badly tarnished since Musk became involved in politics.
—Jonathan Easley, The Hill, 24 July 2025
Adjective
Corben’s film re-examine’s Deen’s life story, as well as the scandal that tarnished her reputation.
—Brent Lang, Variety, 5 Sep. 2025
Suarez, one of the greatest strikers of his generation, has a history of disciplinary issues that has tarnished his legacy.
—Michelle Kaufman, Miami Herald, 4 Sep. 2025
Newer companies promising noble causes, in contrast, are not tarnished—or less tarnished, at least—which also appeals to idealistic young workers.
—Dave Smith, Fortune, 29 Aug. 2025
The project has also been tarnished by concerns surrounding governance, societal inequality, corruption and the environmental impact of largescale infrastructure schemes.
—Holly Ellyatt, CNBC, 29 Aug. 2025
Lance Armstrong was one of the most famous athletes in the world before a doping scandal tarnished his career.
—Emily Krauser, People.com, 24 Aug. 2025
If so, will his influence in the upper chamber be tarnished?
—Melissa Brown, The Tennessean, 21 Aug. 2025
Even before the crypto fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried tarnished the name of effective altruism (EA), the movement had backed itself into tight corners.
—Dan Piepenbring, Harpers Magazine, 20 Aug. 2025
Closer to downtown, the beaches were mostly tarnished by litter and construction debris.
—The New York Times News Service Syndicate, San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tarnished
Verb
-
The disruptions come amid a WNBA season in which multiple games were marred by the objects making appearances on the court.—
Anna Lazarus Caplan,
PEOPLE,
8 Sep. 2025
-
Each death was devastating to relatives and friends left behind, and the first decades of the twentieth century were marred by individual grief on a global scale.—
Alice Vernon
September 8,
Literary Hub,
8 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
His unpolished demeanor and inability to grasp the issues presented a challenge.—
Kimberly Ross,
The Washington Examiner,
12 Sep. 2025
-
In typical athlete origin story fashion, the first half of the Christy trailer depicts the unpolished, brunette Sweeney as real-life champion Christy Salters Martin slugging it out in practice, training on a beach, and hugging her supportive team.—
Ryan Coleman,
EW.com,
11 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
King Charles’ brother, Prince Andrew, has been tainted by his own friendship with Epstein.—
Dan Mangan,
CNBC,
17 Sep. 2025
-
Just as social media makes legacy media apparatus look sluggish by comparison, prediction markets expose traditional polls and surveys for being tainted by bias (see the 2016 Clinton fiasco).—
Atharva Gosavi,
Interesting Engineering,
17 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Inside the retro-futuristic Discoveryland area of Disneyland Paris, a full-size Star Wars X-Wing fighter sits on a silver and blue platform which looks like it has been weathered and stained from battles.—
Caroline Reid,
Forbes.com,
11 Sep. 2025
-
Doing some research on other things my car needs (truly the theme for this week) and decide a seat cover would be good, since it’s been stained a bit with annoying food spills.—
R29 Team,
Refinery29,
10 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Laboratory tests of smuggled samples taken from late Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny show that he was poisoned when he was imprisoned in a Siberian penal colony, his widow Yulia Navalnaya has said.—
Anna Chernova,
CNN Money,
17 Sep. 2025
-
At the end of Season 2, Broadway thespian Ben Glenroy was poisoned by stage producer Donna DiMeo — then revived just long enough for her son, Cliff, to shove him down an elevator shaft in Season 3.—
Ryan Schwartz,
TVLine,
16 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
The couple spent 118 days — nearly four months — on their raft and dingy in the open water before they were rescued by chance by a passing Korean vessel.—
Susan Young,
PEOPLE,
9 Sep. 2025
-
Always look for bright, vibrant heads of lettuce and avoid brown spots or dingy yellow leaves.—
Lauren O'Connor,
Health,
3 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
The same colleagues were yet to watch the finale, and for fear of being spoiled, refused to help with my research.—
Thomas Page,
CNN Money,
18 Sep. 2025
-
If even one of them kept score, the dynamic was seemingly spoiled by lower satisfaction across the board.—
Mark Travers,
Forbes.com,
18 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Many stars making up familiar constellation figures are invisible, and dim constellations such as Cancer and Pisces are not seen at all.—
Joe Rao,
Space.com,
17 Sep. 2025
-
What explains this dim outlook?—
Jill Schlesinger,
Mercury News,
16 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Tarnished.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tarnished. Accessed 20 Sep. 2025.
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