taint — to damage or spoil the quality of something by adding something harmful or undesirable
Part of speech: VERB
Definition: to damage or spoil the quality of something by adding something harmful or undesirable
Pronunciation (IPA): /teɪnt/
Example Sentences
- The celebrity chef's career was tainted after the food poisoning incident at his restaurant.
- My mom says my taste in music is tainted by too much K-pop.
- The jury's decision might be tainted if they watch the news coverage.
taint
VERB[/teɪnt/]
to damage or spoil the quality of something by adding something harmful or undesirable
One drop of poison tainted the entire barrel of water.
A splash of black ink tainted the white marble statue. (✨ Clean Statue + 🖤 Black Ink → Taint)
The stain tainted the wall, so the painter covered it with fresh paint and a complete repaint.
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🎤Pronunciation
🌳Etymology
Origin
From Old French 'teint' (past participle of 'teindre', meaning to dye or color), which derives from Latin 'tinctus' (dyed, colored). The meaning shifted from the physical act of dyeing to the figurative sense of corrupting or spoiling something.
Breakdown
From Old French 'teint' (dyed, tainted) + -ed/-t ending = taint (to color/corrupt). Modern form shows the verb stem 'taint' without visible morpheme division, though historically derived from Latin 'tinctus' (tinc- root meaning 'to dye' + -tus past participle suffix).
🎵Rhyme
🔗Collocations
📝Examples
“The celebrity chef's career was tainted after the food poisoning incident at his restaurant.”
“My mom says my taste in music is tainted by too much K-pop.”
“The jury's decision might be tainted if they watch the news coverage.”
“His love for pizza was forever tainted after finding a hair in his slice.”
📚Related Words
Synonyms
Antonyms
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