tarnish
English · Thesaurus
AI In plain words
Writing a short explanation…
Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.
tarnish
- /ˈtɑːnɪʃ/ UK
- /ˈtɑɹnɪʃ/ US
Rhymes with -ɑː(ɹ)nɪʃ
Where it comes from
From Middle English ternysshen, from Old French terniss-, stem of ternir (“to make dim, make wan”), borrowed from Old High German *ternen, tarnen, from Proto-West Germanic *darnijan (“to conceal”). Doublet of dern and darn.
noun tarnishes
- Oxidation or discoloration, especially of a decorative metal exposed to air. 1918, Hannah Teresa Rowley, Mrs. Helen Louise (Wales) Farrell, Principles of Chemistry Applied to the Household 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.
verb tarnishes · tarnishing · tarnished
- To oxidize or discolor due to oxidation. Careful storage of silver will prevent it from tarnishing.
-
To compromise, damage, soil, or sully.
He is afraid that she will tarnish his reputation if he disagrees with her.
Similar: befoul, inquinate, denigrate, blot, assoil, beclart, bedaub, bedirty, imbrue (especially with blood), bedizen, befile, befilth
- To lose its lustre or attraction; to become dull. Till thy freſh Glories, vvhich novv ſhine ſo bright, / Grovv Stale and Tarniſh vvith our daily ſight.
- To use a sign, image, expression, etc. sufficiently close to a trademarked one that it brings disrepute to it.
Translations
Every language
noun oxidation or discoloration, especially of a decorative metal exposed to air
| Português | oxidação |
|---|---|
| Deutsch | Anlaufen, Mattieren, Beschlagen |
| Русский | потускне́ние potusknénije, окисле́ние okislénije |
verb to oxidize or discolor due to oxidation
| Português | oxidar |
|---|---|
| Français | ternir |
| Deutsch | anlaufen, matt werden, beschlagen |
| Русский | тускне́ть tusknétʹ, де́лать ту́склым délatʹ túsklym |
verb to compromise, damage, soil, or sully
| Português | manchar, ofuscar |
|---|---|
| Deutsch | trüben, beeinträchtigen, beflecken, besudeln, beschmutzen |
| Italiano | infamare, disonorare |
| Ελληνικά | αμαυρώνω amavróno |
| Русский | пятна́ть pjatnátʹ, поро́чить poróčitʹ |
Talk about this word "tarnish." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/tarnish. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. tarnish. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/tarnish "tarnish." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/tarnish.Cite this
@misc{tarnish_2026,
title = {tarnish},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/tarnish},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
