tainted

adjective

taint·​ed ˈtān-təd How to pronounce tainted (audio)
: altered from a pure state or condition: such as
a
: contaminated by or as if by dirt, impurities, or harmful organisms
tainted food
Nearby residents typically want every shovelful of tainted soil dug up and shipped far, far away.Gregg Easterbrook
… federal health authorities identified an organic produce company … as a possible source of some of the tainted spinach.Julia Preston et al.
Viruses are often passed along to other computers via tainted files …J. D. Biersdorfer
b
: corrupted morally or ethically
a tainted victory
c
: damaged or spoiled by alteration from a correct or original state or form
tainted evidence
tainted testimony

Examples of tainted in a Sentence

tainted groundwater that is unfit to drink
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
His fans worried about the dangers of the city, including a diet that was apparently heavy on tainted prey. James Barron, New York Times, 14 Jan. 2025 Transferring that depth to television, particularly to predominantly Black characters in a Caribbean country, especially one as fabled as Jamaica, to confront the tyranny of homophobia while also sustaining a conversation with the U.K. about its tainted legacy of colonialism, is bold and visionary. Ronda Racha Penrice, The Hollywood Reporter, 6 Jan. 2025 When people consume the tainted water, the larvae mature inside the body, growing to about 3 feet long. Evan Bush, NBC News, 31 Dec. 2024 Related article Father of Australian teen who died in Laos urges government ‘to protect others’ from tainted alcohol Gavoka, who is also Fiji’s tourism minister, said close to a million tourists visit the island every year and thousands of tourists were currently holidaying on the Pacific Island. Hilary Whiteman, CNN, 15 Dec. 2024 See all Example Sentences for tainted 

Word History

First Known Use

1577, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of tainted was in 1577

Dictionary Entries Near tainted

Cite this Entry

“Tainted.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tainted. Accessed 20 Jan. 2025.

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