tr.v. at·taint·ed, at·taint·ing, at·taints 1. To impart a stigma to; disgrace: "No breath of calumny ever attainted the personal purity of Savonarola" (Henry Hart Milman). 2. To pass a sentence of attainder against. 3. Archaic To infect or corrupt, as with illness or vice. 4. Archaic To accuse. n. 1. A disgrace; a stigma. 2. Obsolete Attainder. [Middle English attainten, from Old French ataint, past participle of ataindre, to affect; see ATTAIN.] |
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