Need another word that means the same as “tarnish”? Find 58 synonyms and 30 related words for “tarnish” in this overview.
The synonyms of “Tarnish” are: defile, maculate, stain, sully, become discoloured, discolour, rust, oxidize, corrode, deteriorate, dull, make dull, dim, blacken, make black, besmirch, smirch, blemish, blot, taint, soil, befoul, spoil, ruin, dirty, disgrace, mar, damage, defame, calumniate, injure, harm, hurt, undermine, debase, degrade, denigrate, dishonour, stigmatize, vitiate, drag through the mud, discoloration, oxidation, tarnishing, blackening, film, patina, smear, black mark, slur, stigma, flaw
According to the Oxford Dictionary of English, “tarnish” as a noun can have the following definitions:
| black mark | Black clothing (worn as a sign of mourning. |
| blackening | Changing to a darker color. |
| blemish | A moral defect or fault. The girl s hands were without a blemish. |
| blot | A shameful act or quality that damages an otherwise good character or reputation. He made a huge blot on his copybook. |
| discoloration | The act of changing the natural color of something by making it duller or dingier or unnatural or faded. Teeth with amalgam fillings may run the risk of discoloration. |
| film | A story or event recorded by a camera as a set of moving images and shown in a cinema or on television. A new range of films and cameras. |
| flaw | Defect or weakness in a person’s character. He had his flaws but he was great nonetheless. |
| oxidation | The process of oxidizing; the addition of oxygen to a compound with a loss of electrons; always occurs accompanied by reduction. |
| patina | The impression or appearance of something. A patina of good breeding. |
| rust | A plant disease that produces a reddish brown discoloration of leaves and stems caused by various rust fungi. The MPs are here to scrape the rust off the derelict machinery of government. |
| slur | An act of speaking indistinctly so that sounds or words run into one another or a tendency to speak in such a way. The comments were a slur on staff at the hospital. |
| smear | A false accusation intended to damage someone’s reputation. Soon you re eyeballing the top just one smear away. |
| smirch | An act that brings discredit to the person who does it. |
| stain | The state of being covered with unclean things. There were mud stains on my shoes. |
| stigma | The apical end of the style where deposited pollen enters the pistil. The stigma of having gone to prison will always be with me. |
| taint | Something with a contaminating influence or effect. The taint of corruption which adhered to the government. |
| tarnishing | Discoloration of metal surface caused by oxidation. |
According to the Oxford Dictionary of English, “tarnish” as a verb can have the following definitions:
| become discoloured | Enter or assume a certain state or condition. |
| befoul | Make dirty; pollute. The dangers of letting industry befoul the environment. |
| besmirch | Damage (someone’s reputation. The ground was besmirched with blood. |
| blacken | Make or become black. Paras in full combat gear with blackened faces. |
| blemish | Add a flaw or blemish to make imperfect or defective. His reign as world champion has been blemished by controversy. |
| blot | Transfer by means of a blot. A dust shield blotting out the sun. |
| calumniate | Charge falsely or with malicious intent; attack the good name and reputation of someone. He has been calumniating the Crown and all the conservative decencies. |
| corrode | Cause to deteriorate due to the action of water, air, or an acid. The acid corroded the metal. |
| damage | Inflict damage upon. The car was badly damaged in the accident. |
| debase | Corrupt debase or make impure by adding a foreign or inferior substance often by replacing valuable ingredients with inferior ones. War debases people. |
| defame | Charge falsely or with malicious intent; attack the good name and reputation of someone. He claimed that the article defamed his family. |
| defile | Rape or sexually assault (a woman. The tomb had been defiled and looted. |
| degrade | Lower the quality of; cause to deteriorate. He was degraded from his high estate. |
| denigrate | Criticize unfairly; disparage. Doom and gloom merchants who denigrate their own country. |
| deteriorate | Grow worse. If the situation continues to deteriorate the consequences could be severe. |
| dim | Make dim by comparison or conceal. A smoky inferno that dimmed the sun. |
| discolour | Change or cause to change to a different, less attractive colour. Too much aluminium can discolour water. |
| disgrace | Bring shame or discredit on. He has been publicly disgraced for offences for which he was not guilty. |
| dishonour | Refuse to accept or pay (a cheque or a bill of exchange. She was now unworthy of his notice having been dishonoured by Casim. |
| drag through the mud | Draw slowly or heavily. |
| dull | Become dull or lusterless in appearance lose shine or brightness. Too much cutting dulls the knife s edge. |
| harm | Cause or do harm to. These pills won t harm your system. |
| hurt | Hurt the feelings of. Our business was hurt by the new competition. |
| injure | Cause damage or affect negatively. He injured his back helping the girl. |
| maculate | Spot, stain, or pollute. A dirty white T shirt maculated with barbecue sauce. |
| make black | Achieve a point or goal. |
| make dull | Favor the development of. |
| mar | Destroy or injure severely. Nothing marred her beauty. |
| oxidize | Combine chemically with oxygen. This metal oxidizes easily. |
| ruin | Fall into ruin. You have ruined my car by pouring sugar in the tank. |
| rust | Be affected with rust. The pipes rusted. |
| smirch | Make (something) dirty; soil. I am not accustomed to having my honour smirched. |
| soil | Make soiled filthy or dirty. Don t soil your clothes when you play outside. |
| spoil | Be extremely or aggressively eager for. The enemy entered into Hereford spoiled and fired the city and razed the walls to the ground. |
| stain | Produce or leave stains. Wood can always be stained to a darker shade. |
| stigmatize | Mark with stigmata. The institution was stigmatized as a last resort for the destitute. |
| sully | Place under suspicion or cast doubt upon. She wondered if she dared sully the gleaming sink. |
| taint | Affect with a bad or undesirable quality. The air was tainted by fumes from the cars. |
| undermine | Erode the base or foundation of (a rock formation. This could undermine years of hard work. |
| vitiate | Take away the legal force of or render ineffective. Development programmes have been vitiated by the rise in population. |
| adulteration | The act of adulterating (especially the illicit substitution of one substance for another. The adulteration of culture. |
| besmirch | Damage (someone’s reputation. The ground was besmirched with blood. |
| blot | Transfer by means of a blot. Mary dug her brush into black paint and blotted out her picture. |
| committed | Pledged or bound to a certain course or policy; dedicated. Esther has a committed boyfriend. |
| contaminate | Make (something) impure by exposure to or addition of a poisonous or polluting substance. Don t drink the water it s contaminated. |
| contaminated | Having been made impure by exposure to or addition of a poisonous or polluting substance. Had to boil the contaminated water. |
| contamination | The act of contaminating or polluting; including (either intentionally or accidentally) unwanted substances or factors. The contamination of his morals. |
| corrupt | Corrupt morally or by intemperance or sensuality. Socrates was accused of corrupting young men. |
| daub | Material used to daub walls. Daub the ceiling with plaster. |
| debasement | Being mixed with extraneous material; the product of adulterating. The outcome is rot and debasement of the system. |
| defamation | A false accusation of an offense or a malicious misrepresentation of someone’s words or actions. She sued him for defamation. |
| defame | Charge falsely or with malicious intent. The journalists have defamed me. |
| defile | Desecrate or profane (something sacred. The townspeople defiled the river by emptying raw sewage into it. |
| defiled | Morally blemished; stained or impure. |
| denigrate | Charge falsely or with malicious intent. Doom and gloom merchants who denigrate their own country. |
| environmental | Concerned with the ecological effects of altering the environment. Acid rain may have caused major environmental damage. |
| infect | Contaminate with a disease or microorganism. Viruses have infected computer networks. |
| maculate | Spotted or stained. A dirty white T shirt maculated with barbecue sauce. |
| maliciously | With malice; in a malicious manner. Proof that the defendant acted maliciously. |
| pollute | Defile or corrupt. A society polluted by greed. |
| pollution | The presence in or introduction into the environment of a substance which has harmful or poisonous effects. The level of pollution in the air is rising. |
| sicken | Get sick. This kind of food sickens me. |
| slur | Of words or speech be slurred. He was slurring his words like a drunk. |
| smirch | A blemish made by dirt. The window was smirched by heat and smoke. |
| smudge | Make a smudge on soil by smudging. She dabbed her eyes careful not to smudge her make up. |
| spot | Mark with a spot or spots so as to allow easy recognition. His bald spot. |
| stain | Be marked or be liable to be marked with a stain. He regarded his time in gaol as a stain on his character. |
| sully | Make dirty or spotty, as by exposure to air; also used metaphorically. Sully someone s reputation. |
| taint | (of food or water) become contaminated or polluted. The rennet should be soaked in water containing sufficient salt to keep it from tainting. |
The synonyms and related words of "Brag" are: blow, bluster, boast, gas, gasconade, shoot a…
The synonyms and related words of "Pierce" are: thrust, make a hole in, penetrate, puncture,…
The synonyms and related words of "Weary" are: aweary, tired, tired out, exhausted, fatigued, overtired,…
The synonyms and related words of "Kick" are: complain, kvetch, plain, quetch, sound off, give…
The synonyms and related words of "Useless" are: futile, pointless, purposeless, impractical, vain, in vain,…
Want to describe something with adjectives that start with 'J'? Though they are not numerous,…