tarnish

 
Pronunciation: /ˈtɑːnɪʃ/

verb

  • lose or cause to lose lustre, 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

[mass noun]
  • dullness of colour; loss of brightness.
  • a film or stain formed on an exposed surface of a mineral or metal: he was removing tarnish from the candlesticks
  • damage or harm done to something: the tarnish on Alan’s personal reputation

Derivatives

tarnishable

adjective

Origin:

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