Nominal Forms
Infinitive: to tarnish
Participle: tarnished
Gerund: tarnishing
Cognates
-
Indicative
Present
| I | tarnish |
| you | tarnish |
| he;she;it | tarnishes |
| we | tarnish |
| you | tarnish |
| they | tarnish |
Perfect
| I | have tarnished |
| you | have tarnished |
| he;she;it | has tarnished |
| we | have tarnished |
| you | have tarnished |
| they | have tarnished |
Past
| I | tarnished |
| you | tarnished |
| he;she;it | tarnished |
| we | tarnished |
| you | tarnished |
| they | tarnished |
Pluperfect
| I | had tarnished |
| you | had tarnished |
| he;she;it | had tarnished |
| we | had tarnished |
| you | had tarnished |
| they | had tarnished |
Future
| I | will tarnish |
| you | will tarnish |
| he;she;it | will tarnish |
| we | will tarnish |
| you | will tarnish |
| they | will tarnish |
Future Perfect
| I | will have tarnished |
| you | will have tarnished |
| he;she;it | will have tarnished |
| we | will have tarnished |
| you | will have tarnished |
| they | will have tarnished |
Subjunctive
Present
| I | tarnish |
| you | tarnish |
| he;she;it | tarnish |
| we | tarnish |
| you | tarnish |
| they | tarnish |
Perfect
| I | have tarnished |
| you | have tarnished |
| he;she;it | have tarnished |
| we | have tarnished |
| you | have tarnished |
| they | have tarnished |
Imperfect
| I | tarnished |
| you | tarnished |
| he;she;it | tarnished |
| we | tarnished |
| you | tarnished |
| they | tarnished |
Pluperfect
| I | had tarnished |
| you | had tarnished |
| he;she;it | had tarnished |
| we | had tarnished |
| you | had tarnished |
| they | had tarnished |
Conditional
Present
| I | would tarnish |
| you | would tarnish |
| he;she;it | would tarnish |
| we | would tarnish |
| you | would tarnish |
| they | would tarnish |
Perfect
| I | would have tarnished |
| you | would have tarnished |
| he;she;it | would have tarnished |
| we | would have tarnished |
| you | would have tarnished |
| they | would have tarnished |
Imperative
| you | tarnish |
| we | Let's tarnish |
| you | tarnish |
Verbs conjugated like 'tarnish'
abash,
abolish,
abroach,
accomplish,
accroach,
address,
admix,
admonish,
ado,
adpress,
affamish,
affix,
alloo,
amass,
ambush,
anguish,
annex,
appeach,
appears,
approach, etc. (List truncated at 20 verbs)
Verbs similar to 'tarnish'
garnish,
varnish,
banish,
burnish,
furnish,
parish,
starfish,
tapish,
tappish,
vanish,
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms
- defame
- blacken, defame, denigrate, sully, taint
- to make physically dirty
- assoil, beclart, bedaub, bedirty, bedizen, befile, befoul, begrime, beray, besully, bewray, blacken, blot, blur, contaminate, darken, denigrate, dirty, drag through the mud, dull, foil, foul, gunk, gunk up, inquinate, pollute, sling mud, slotter, slur, smutch, soss, sowl, spot, stain, sullow, taint, uggle
- discolor
- dull
- stain
- soil, smear, smudge, dirty, sully, blemish, taint
- disgrace
- defame, slander, embarrass, blacken
Antonyms
- disgrace
- honor, renown, esteem, respect
Additional Information
Phrasal Verbs
Etymology
1. 1598, from prp. stem of M.Fr. ternir "dull the luster or brightness of, make dim" (15c.), probably from O.Fr. adj. terne "dull, dark," from a Frank. source cognate with O.H.G. tarnjan "to conceal, hide," O.E. dyrnan "to hide, darken," from P.Gmc. *darnijaz, related to dark. Figurative sense is from 1697. The noun is recorded from 1713.
2. 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.
Sample Sentences
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Careful storage of silver will prevent it from tarnishing.
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He is afraid that she will tarnish his reputation if he disagrees with her.
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I have next shown you the Greeks, and " the wisdom" of their philosophy, often travesting, sometimes tarnishing the Christian religion : […] [1839, Alexander Kinmont, “Lecture the Eighth; On the Unity in Variety of the Human Race”, in Twelve Lectures on the Natural History of Man, and the Rise and Progress of Philosophy, Cincinnati: U. P. James, page 232:]
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The greed that many players show tarnishes the game. [1991 April 7, “Players' Greed Tarnishes Game”, in The New York Times:]
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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:]
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Till thy freſh Glories, vvhich novv ſhine ſo bright, / Grovv Stale and Tarniſh vvith our daily ſight. [1681, [John Dryden], Absalom and Achitophel. A Poem, London: […] J[acob] T[onson] and are to be sold by W. Davis […], →OCLC, page 8:]