Taint1. (n.) A thrust with a lance, which fails of its intended effect.
2. (n.) An injury done to a lance in an encounter, without its being broken; also, a breaking of a lance in an encounter in a dishonorable or unscientific manner.
3. (v. i.) To thrust ineffectually with a lance.
4. (v. t.) To injure, as a lance, without breaking it; also, to break, as a lance, but usually in an unknightly or unscientific manner.
5. (v. t.) To hit or touch lightly, in tilting.
6. (v. t.) To imbue or impregnate with something extraneous, especially with something odious, noxious, or poisonous; hence, to corrupt; to infect; to poison; as, putrid substance taint the air.
7. (v. t.) Fig.: To stain; to sully; to tarnish.
8. (v. i.) To be infected or corrupted; to be touched with something corrupting.
9. (v. i.) To be affected with incipient putrefaction; as, meat soon taints in warm weather.
10. (n.) Tincture; hue; color; tinge.
11. (n.) Infection; corruption; deprivation.
12. (n.) A blemish on reputation; stain; spot; disgrace.
Thesaurus Entries
abuse, adulterate, aerial infection, afflict, aggrieve, airborne infection, alloy, aroma, aspersion, attaint, attribute, badge, badge of infamy, bar sinister, baton, bedaub, befoul, benasty, bend sinister, besmear, besmirch, besmoke, bespatter, bestain, bewitch, black eye, black mark, blacken, blemish, blight, bloodstain, blot, blotch, blow upon, blur, brand, broad arrow, bug, cachet, canker, carrier, cast, catch, censure, champain, character, characteristic, cheapen, cloud, coarsen, communicability, condemn, configuration, confound, contagion, contagiousness, contaminate, contamination, corrupt, crack, crucify, cryptogenic infection, curse, cut, dab, damage, darken, dash, daub, debase, debauch, defame, defect, defection, deficiency, defile, deflower, degenerate, degrade, denature, deprave, desecrate, despoil, destroy, devalue, differentia, differential, direct infection, dirty, disadvantage, disapprove, discolor, discredit, disease, dishonor, disparage, disparagement, disserve, distinctive feature, distort, distress, do a mischief, do evil, do ill, do wrong, do wrong by, doom, drawback, droplet infection, dust infection, earmark, envenom, epidemiology, expose, expose to infamy, eyesore, failing, failure, fault, faute, feature, figure, flavor, flaw, fleck, flick, flyspeck, foible, foul, frailty, get into trouble, gibbet, gust, hallmark, hand infection, hang in effigy, harass, harm, hex, hint, hole, hurt, idiocrasy, idiosyncrasy, impair, imperfection, impress, impression, imputation, inadequacy, index, indirect infection, individualism, infect, infection, infectiousness, infirmity, infusion, injure, inkling, intimation, jinx, keynote, kink, lineaments, little problem, macula, maculation, macule, maltreat, mannerism, mark, mark of Cain, marking, menace, mess, mess up, mistreat, misuse, mold, molest, muddy, nasty, nature, odor, onus, outrage, particularity, patch, peculiarity, persecute, pervert, phytogenic infection, pillory, pillorying, play havoc with, play hob with, point champain, poison, pollute, prejudice, primary infection, problem, property, prostitute, pyogenic infection, quality, quirk, ravage, ravish, reflection, reprimand, reproach, rift, ruin, sauce, savage, savor, scar, scathe, scorch, seal, sear, seasoning, secondary infection, shade, shape, shortcoming, singe, singularity, slubber, slur, smack, smear, smirch, smoke, smouch, smudge, smut, smutch, snag, soil, something missing, soupcon, spatter, specialty, speck, speckle, spice, splash, splatter, splotch, spoil, spot