The Oxford Thesaurus An A-Z Dictionary of Synonyms - taint n.

1) stain, blot, blemish, slur, tinge, tincture, (black or bad) mark, stigma, imperfection, flaw, scar, defect; discredit, dishonour: His writing suffers from the taint of pedantry. --v. 2) sully, tarnish, stain, stigmatize, smear, harm, hurt, damage, debase, vitiate, blacken, foul, contaminate, pollute, dirty, muddy, smirch, besmirch, blemish, soil, corrupt, spoil, defile, ruin, destroy: It takes very little to taint one's reputation in a small village.