taint´less

taint´less
taint «taynt», noun, verb.
–n.
1. a trace of any harmful or undesirable quality, often a) a condition of contamination, infection, or decay. b) a trace of discredit, dishonor, or disgrace; slur: »

a taint of bribery. No taint of dishonor ever touched George Washington.

 c) a touch, shade, or tinge of discoloration; spot or stain; blemish.
2. a cause of any such condition, especially a contaminating or corrupting influence; cause of decay.
3. Obsolete. a color, hue, or dye.
–v.t.
1. to give a taint to; spoil, corrupt, or contaminate: »

Flies sometimes taint what they touch. His character was tainted from following the ways of bad companions.

 SYNONYM(S): sully.
2. Obsolete. to color; dye.
–v.i.
to become tainted; decay: »

Meat will taint if it is left too long in a warm place.

╂[partly short for attaint; partly < Old French teint, past participle of teindre to dye < Latin tingere. See etym. of doublets tint (Cf. ↑tint), tinct. (Cf. ↑tinct)]
–taint´less, adjective.

Useful english dictionary. 2012.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • less — less·est; less·ness; let·ter·less; li·cense·less; lid·less; life·less; life·less·ly; life·less·ness; light·less; light·less·ness; limb·less; lime·less; lim·it·less; line·less; lint·less; lip·less; list·less; list·less·ly; list·less·ness;… …   English syllables

  • taint — at·taint·ment; taint·less; at·taint; taint; taint·less·ly; taint·less·ness; un·taint·ed·ly; un·taint·ed·ness; …   English syllables

  • taint — taint1 [ teınt ] verb transitive to give something an unpleasant quality that spoils it and often makes people not want it, or not want to be involved with it: The air was tainted by the smell of burning. a. to make someone seem less honest,… …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • taint — I UK [teɪnt] / US verb [transitive] Word forms taint : present tense I/you/we/they taint he/she/it taints present participle tainting past tense tainted past participle tainted a) to give something an unpleasant quality that spoils it and often… …   English dictionary

  • taint — 1 verb (transitive usually passive) to make someone or something seem less pure and desirable by relating it to something unpleasant: be tainted by/with: a political reputation tainted by association with the Mafia 2 noun (singular) the… …   Longman dictionary of contemporary English

  • Cork taint — Chemical structure of 2,4,6 trichloroanisole (TCA), the compound primarily responsible for cork taint Cork taint is a broad term referring to a wine fault characterized by a set of undesirable smells or tastes found in a bottle of wine,… …   Wikipedia

  • taintless — taint·less …   English syllables

  • taintlessly — taint·less·ly …   English syllables

  • taintlessness — taint·less·ness …   English syllables

  • ness — ness·ber·ry; ness·ler·iza·tion; ness·ler·ize; ness·ler s; new·fan·gled·ness; new·ness; news·i·ness; nice·ness; nig·gard·li·ness; nig·gard·ness; nigh·ness; nip·pi·ness; no·ble·ness; nois·i·ness; non·cha·lant·ness; north·er·li·ness; north·ness;… …   English syllables

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”