tarnish

Word family

tar·nish1 /ˈtɑːnɪʃ $ ˈtɑːr-/ verb

1 [transitiveT]HCMSPOIL if an event or fact tarnishes someone’s reputation, record, image etc, it makes it worse 玷污，败坏，损害〔名誉、形象等〕

His regime was tarnished by human rights abuses.

他的政权因践踏人权而形象受损。

2 [intransitiveI, transitiveT]SHINE if metals such as silver, copper, or brass tarnish, or if something tarnishes them, they become dull and lose their colour （使）〔银、铜等金属〕失去光泽，变暗淡

Gold does not tarnish easily.

黄金色泽不容易变暗。

tarnished silver spoons

发乌的银勺

Examples from the Corpus

tarnish• Profits at auto makers and other exporters could be tarnished by a weaker dollar against the yen.• I wanted it to shine the windows and polish the tarnished feelings like a good spring house-cleaning.• This reputation could be tarnished if adequate steps are not taken to control the rodent population.• The promise of town planning itself was tarnished in this context.• The brass is nice, but it will tarnish really easily.• Harassment of religion will only tarnish the orthodox church's reputation, while steeling the resistance of persecuted faiths.• The glass was so tarnished they could hardly be deciphered.• Neighbors' testimony tarnished Wilson's image as a loving mother.

tarnish2 noun [singular, uncountableU]

SHINEdullness of colour, or loss of brightness 颜色晦暗；暗淡无光

Origin tarnish1

(1400-1500) Old French ternir “to make dull”

tar·nish1 verbtarnish2 noun

Chinese

Syllable

Corpus