tarnish

tar·nish (tär′nis̸h)

transitive verb

to dull the luster of or discolor the surface of (a metal) as by exposure to air
1. to besmirch or sully (a reputation, honor, etc.)
2. to spoil, mar, or debase to tarnish a memory

Etymology: < Fr terniss-, inflectional stem of ternir, to make dim < MFr, prob. < OHG tarnjan, to conceal < tarni, hidden

intransitive verb

noun

tar′·nish·able adjective

Object

reputation: Result: client's reputation unfairly tarnished with little or no prospect of redress.
image: He tarnished the image of Britain in the eyes of many Arabs.
memory: First of all, Paul Burrell would never tarnish the memory of Diana, Princess of Wales.
name: Facing prosecution, with his name tarnished by the scandal, he was forced to resign.
silver: It infected the air, tarnished the silver, might possibly destroy the health, and was speedily, tho reluctantly, abandoned.
brand: Knowing this much does not seemed to have done much to tarnish the brands.

Subject

scandal: Facing prosecution, with his name tarnished by the scandal, he was forced to resign.
action: Have you ever felt your own reputation to have been tarnished by the actions of others?

Modifying Another Word

forever: Being out of fashion during a particular year, thus having your reputation tarnished forever, fashion or not - really isn't on.
somewhat: For me the joy of spring is somewhat tarnished by the fact that there just aren't enough hours in the day.
badly: To clean badly tarnished brass soak in a solution of oxalic acid overnight.
slightly: And I felt slightly tarnished by the way we seem to value our existence by not being genuinely committed.
never: First of all, Paul Burrell would never tarnish the memory of Diana, Princess of Wales.
little: Fair result on the day; just a little tarnished by the handbags from certain players.

Used with why or when

when: Wear cotton gloves when handling to avoid tarnishing when working with silver or imitation gold, or rub talcum powder on your hands.
what: Beside, anything other than letting P Neville tarnish what otherwise looks like a pretty decent english line up!

Preposition: in

eye: In the meanwhile, however, the firm's reputation could be wrongly tarnished in the eyes of the regulator and resources expended unnecessarily.

Preposition: with

brush: She said she did not want local youngsters to all be " tarnished with the same brush " .

Preposition: by

scandal: Facing prosecution, with his name tarnished by the scandal, he was forced to resign.

Preposition: than

shine: Companies who make best use of path of two more tarnish than shine.

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