Definition of "tarnish"

tarnish

/ˈtɑːnɪʃ/

noun
usually uncountable, plural tarnishes
1. Oxidation or discoloration, especially of a decorative metal exposed to air.
  Quotations
  Precipitated calcium carbonate, a very fine powdery form, is used as a basis for many tooth powders and pastes. As whiting it finds a wide use in cleaning metals of their tarnishes.
  1918, Hannah Teresa Rowley, Mrs. Helen Louise (Wales) Farrell, Principles of Chemistry Applied to the Household
verb
third-person singular simple present tarnishes, present participle tarnishing, simple past and past participle tarnished
1. (intransitive) To oxidize or discolor due to oxidation.
2. (transitive) To compromise, damage, soil, or sully.
  Quotations
  There are normally anti-embarrassment clauses in such arrangements and, from a corporate social responsibility point of view, the upside of standing by a tarnished individual is often outweighed by the downside.
  2022 March 11, David Hytner, “Chelsea are in crisis but there is no will to leave club on their knees”, in The Guardian‎
3. (intransitive, figurative) To lose its lustre or attraction; to become dull.
  Quotations
  Till thy freſh Glories, which now ſhine ſo bright, / Grow Stale and Tarniſh with our dayly ſight.
  1681, [John Dryden], Absalom and Achitophel. A Poem. […], 3rd edition, London: […] J[acob] T[onson] and are to be sold by W. Davis […], published 1682, page 7
4. (copyright law) To use a sign, image, expression, etc. sufficiently close to a trademarked one that it brings disrepute to it.

Definition of "tarnish"

tarnish

noun

Quotations

verb

Quotations

Quotations