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tarnish

Syllabification: (tar·nish)
Pronunciation: /ˈtärniSH/

Translate tarnish | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of tarnish

verb

  • lose or cause to lose luster, especially as a result of exposure to air or moisture: [no object]:silver tarnishes too easily [with object]:lemon juice would tarnish the gilded metal
  • make or become less valuable or respected: [with object]:his regime had not been tarnished by human rights abuses

noun

  • dullness of color; loss of brightness.
  • a film or stain formed on an exposed surface of a mineral or metal.
  • damage or harm done to something.

Derivatives

tarnishable

adjective

Origin:

late Middle English (as a verb): from French terniss-, lengthened stem of ternir, from terne 'dark, dull'

tarnish in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of tarnish in the British & World English dictionary

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