1
as in to taint
to affect slightly with something morally bad or undesirable
her poor choice of companions stained her reputation somewhat
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to paint
to give color or a different color to
stained the table to look like cherry
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in to dirty
to make dirty
oil stained his work pants
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in blot
a mark of guilt or disgrace
the stain of this cowardly act would haunt him for the rest of his career
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of stain
Caroline C. Boyle, USA TODAY, 19 Feb. 2025
Bissell Little Green Portable Carpet and Upholstery Cleaner Bissell’s Little Green Cleaner will save your upholstered furniture or carpet if they get stained.
—Ali Faccenda, Better Homes & Gardens, 11 Feb. 2025
Maggie Lange, New York Times, 18 Feb. 2025
The artifacts within them live and breathe, signs of age like rust and sun stains tethering them to our world in a way that traditional exhibits divorce.
—Vanessa Anderson, Los Angeles Times, 18 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for stain
Verb
Lower-quality hair colors contain direct dyes, which have a greater likelihood of staining your skin and fade much faster than professional-grade products.
—Caroline C. Boyle, USA TODAY, 19 Feb. 2025
Bissell Little Green Portable Carpet and Upholstery Cleaner Bissell’s Little Green Cleaner will save your upholstered furniture or carpet if they get stained.
—Ali Faccenda, Better Homes & Gardens, 11 Feb. 2025
Noun
Giving Moth Holes a Makeover: At Eva Joan, a clothing repair shop in the West Village, tears, spots and stains are transformed, rather than merely repaired.
—Maggie Lange, New York Times, 18 Feb. 2025
The artifacts within them live and breathe, signs of age like rust and sun stains tethering them to our world in a way that traditional exhibits divorce.
—Vanessa Anderson, Los Angeles Times, 18 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for stain
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stain
Verb
-
With Marxism tainted by its aggressive materialism, and mere democratic socialism so mere, anarchism could be imagined as a series of defiant spiritual acts.—
Adam Gopnik,
The New Yorker,
24 Feb. 2025
-
Bove asserted that the case needs to be set aside for now for two reasons: It was tainted by politics and the prosecution interferes with Adams’ ability to be mayor.—
New York Daily News Editorial Board,
New York Daily News,
24 Feb. 2025
Verb
-
The roof is painted black, while the black rose hue is complemented by satin rose gold accents at the front, sides and rear of the vehicle.—
Alistair Charlton,
Forbes,
11 Mar. 2025
-
Although generally painted as having underperformed in Ukraine, Russia's air force would still be formidable.—
Faisal Kutty,
Newsweek,
11 Mar. 2025
Verb
-
Grease dirtied the handles of the ovens, the microwave ovens and the coolers.—
David J. Neal,
Miami Herald,
14 Feb. 2025
-
Instead of dirtying a larger pot for your supporting dishes, this quaint cooker will come in handy for quick (or slower simmering) concoctions while matching your kitchen atmosphere.—
Sophia Beams,
Better Homes & Gardens,
14 Jan. 2025
Noun
-
Dab with a clean damp cloth to remove soapy residue, then blot dry.—
Jessica Bennett,
Better Homes & Gardens,
10 Dec. 2024
-
There, an opaque, baseball-size blot was visible on his imaging results.—
ByMeredith Wadman,
science.org,
16 Jan. 2025
Noun
-
To everyone’s surprise, the phytoplankton were not asleep either: Hoppe measured higher levels of the pigment chlorophyll—a useful proxy for active photosynthesis—in the seawater than anyone expected.—
Asher Elbein,
WIRED,
2 Mar. 2025
-
That green pigment comes from centella asiatica (cica), a skin-care staple that counteracts redness and soothes irritation.—
Jennifer Hussein,
Allure,
28 Feb. 2025
Verb
-
His final season was marred by a shoulder injury and insufficient QB play, but Loveland still led the Wolverines in receptions (56), receiving yards (582) and receiving TDs (five).—
Eddie Brown,
The Mercury News,
27 Feb. 2025
-
The election took place seven months earlier than originally planned after Scholz’s unpopular coalition collapsed in November, three years into a term that was increasingly marred by infighting.—
Vanessa Gera,
Los Angeles Times,
24 Feb. 2025
Verb
-
Not that Tolbert on occasion didn’t color outside the lines at KNBR.—
Jerry McDonald,
The Mercury News,
28 Feb. 2025
-
In an Indiana warehouse area on Lafayette's north end, little plastic chips are fed into a machine to be colored red and spun into the shape of a drinking straw.—
Jillian Ellison,
USA TODAY,
27 Feb. 2025
Verb
-
The goal is for the top to become blackened while the center remains jiggly.—
Lily Moayeri,
SPIN,
13 Feb. 2025
-
By the end of January, the Palisades and Eaton fires had collectively burned more than 37,000 acres of land, blackened more than 1,500 structures, and claimed 29 lives, according to the New York Times.—
Daniel Cassady,
ARTnews.com,
19 Feb. 2025
Articles Related to stain
Cite this Entry
“Stain.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stain. Accessed 14 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share