: 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
Gregg Easterbrook… federal health authorities identified an organic produce company … as a possible source of some of the tainted spinach.—Julia Preston et al.
Julia Preston et al.Viruses are often passed along to other computers via tainted files …—J. D. Biersdorfer
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
Examples of tainted in a Sentence
tainted groundwater that is unfit to drink
Recent Examples on the Web
If access control slips, an engineer gets a tainted result, risking a leak.
—Suman Sharma, Forbes.com, 7 July 2025
Most people get fever, vomiting, stomachaches and diarrhea after eating tainted food, symptoms that can run for four to seven days.
—Miami Herald Archives, Miami Herald, 24 June 2025
In her closing address, prosecutor Rogers said no evidence was offered suggesting expelling tainted food can lessen the impact of amanita toxin.
—Hilary Whiteman, CNN Money, 21 June 2025
Quality concerns have dogged the industry for years: In 2023, four people died after using tainted eye drops made in India, and others had to have their eyeballs surgically removed.
—Katherine Dailey, ProPublica, 18 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for tainted
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Suman Sharma, Forbes.com, 7 July 2025
Most people get fever, vomiting, stomachaches and diarrhea after eating tainted food, symptoms that can run for four to seven days.
—Miami Herald Archives, Miami Herald, 24 June 2025
In her closing address, prosecutor Rogers said no evidence was offered suggesting expelling tainted food can lessen the impact of amanita toxin.
—Hilary Whiteman, CNN Money, 21 June 2025
Quality concerns have dogged the industry for years: In 2023, four people died after using tainted eye drops made in India, and others had to have their eyeballs surgically removed.
—Katherine Dailey, ProPublica, 18 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for tainted
Cite this Entry
“Tainted.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tainted. Accessed 18 Jul. 2025.
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