tainted

adjective

taint·​ed ˈtān-təd 

: altered from a pure state or condition: such as

a

: contaminated by or as if by dirt, impurities, or harmful organisms

tainted food

Nearby residents typically want every shovelful of tainted soil dug up and shipped far, far away.

—Gregg Easterbrook

… federal health authorities identified an organic produce company … as a possible source of some of the tainted spinach.

—Julia Preston et al.

Viruses are often passed along to other computers via tainted files …

—J. D. Biersdorfer

b

: corrupted morally or ethically

a tainted victory

c

: damaged or spoiled by alteration from a correct or original state or form

tainted evidence

tainted testimony

Synonyms

• adulterate
• adulterated
• alloyed
• contaminated
• dilute
• diluted
• impure
• polluted
• thinned
• weakened

Examples of tainted in a Sentence

tainted groundwater that is unfit to drink

Recent Examples on the Web

But, despite its tainted origins, blood quantum is still a part of many tribes’ contemporary policies. —Rachel Monroe, The New Yorker, 20 Nov. 2024

Doctors at the surgical center became wary of the tainted IV bags in August 2022 after an 18-year-old patient had to be rushed to the intensive care unit during a routine sinus surgery, the Justice Department said. —Alexis Simmerman, Austin American-Statesman, 21 Nov. 2024

Olympia and Julian have reopened an old lawsuit against First 12 Formula, a manufacturer of infant formula, whose tainted product may have been responsible for the death of a baby named Dante. —Noel Murray, Vulture, 14 Nov. 2024

Several of those people reportedly died after eating tainted Boars Head liverwurst products. —Mack Degeurin, Popular Science, 24 Oct. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1577, in the meaning defined above