From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishtarnishtar‧nish1 /ˈtɑːnɪʃ $ ˈtɑːr-/ verb 1 [transitive]HCMSPOIL if an event or fact tarnishes someone’s reputation, record, image etc, it makes it worse His regime was tarnished by human rights abuses.2 [intransitive, transitive]SHINE if metals such as silver, copper, or brass tarnish, or if something tarnishes them, they become dull and lose their colour Gold does not tarnish easily. tarnished silver spoons→ See Verb table
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.tarnishtarnish2 noun [singular, uncountable] SHINEdullness of colour, or loss of brightnessOrigin tarnish1 (1400-1500) Old French ternir “to make dull” 