untainted
Britishadjective
Explanation
Something that's untainted has not been spoiled or contaminated. After a flood, a homeowner is lucky to find papers and photos that are untainted by the mildew that covers most of his things. While untainted can describe things that are physically unspoiled or free from contaminants, it's more common to use the adjective to talk about the character of a person or group. A candidate with an untainted reputation has no record of controversy, and a town that's untainted by chain stores might have a more charming, old-fashioned character. The moral sense of the word — "pure," in a religious way — was the earliest meaning.
Vocabulary lists containing untainted
"Simon's Saga," Vocabulary from Episode 19
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Odd One Out
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Shout
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
By taking on Brontë’s book, Fennell was doomed to stare down millions of overly pedantic literature sticklers, people who prefer their adaptations pure and untainted.
From Salon • Feb. 23, 2026
They likely recognize that degrees untainted by preferences will have greater market value.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 11, 2026
"If the golden toilet in situ had looked beautiful and perfect and majestic and untainted, this was the total opposite," Mr Hare said.
From BBC • Mar. 18, 2025
With eyes wide and voice breathless, he will sing the praises of some hopelessly overmatched opponent his Manchester City team has just beaten by 6-1, his players’ jerseys untainted by sweat.
From New York Times • Mar. 8, 2024
Lenina nodded her averted head, let out the breath she had been holding and managed to draw' another one, relatively untainted.
From "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
