tarnish

/ˈtɑːnɪʃ/

//ˈtɑːnɪʃ// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"tarnish" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“tarnish” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #35,107. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#35,107
frequency rank, English
3,151
“T” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
4
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Oxidation or discoloration, especially of a decorative metal exposed to air.

Corpus desk

Index EN-tarnish · tarnish · English

tarnish · rank #35,107 · 11 variants · 4 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #35,107
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 4 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,151
  • PHOTO-FINISH Tasman

Nearest frequency peer: Tasman (+1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “tarnish”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “tarnish” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

tarnish vs Trish
57% similar
tarnish vs Turkish
57% similar
tarnish vs tarnished
78% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for tarnish
PropertyValue
Headwordtarnish
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈtɑːnɪʃ/
Letters7
Frequency rank#35,107
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs4
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “tarnish”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).tarnishlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “Tasman” (#35,108), “tek” (#35,109), “Susannah” (#35,103). Among 3,151 “T” headwords, “tarnish” is #35,107. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around tarnish (IPA /ˈtɑːnɪʃ/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #35,107 among 3,151 “T” headwords. Dominant gloss: "Oxidation or discoloration, especially of a decorative metal exposed to air.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for tarnish, with forms such as "atrnish", "tanrish", and "tarinsh". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 4 confusable-pair relationships, "Trish", "Turkish", "tarnished", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English ternysshen, from Old French terniss-, stem of ternir (“to make dim, make wan”), borrowed from Old High German *ternen, tarnen, from Proto-West Germanic *darnijan (“to conceal”). Doublet of dern and darn. The correct English form is tarnish, spelled T-A-R-N-I-S-H.

Definition

  1. 1
    Oxidation or discoloration, especially of a decorative metal exposed to air.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how tarnish appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. 1918, Hannah Teresa Rowley, Mrs. Helen Louise (Wales) Farrell, Principles of Chemistry Applied to the Household Precipitated calcium carbonate, a very fine powdery form, is used as a basis for many tooth powders and pastes. As whiting it finds a wide use in cleaning metals of their tarnishes.
  2. Limiting the use of silver to special occasions might invite tarnish unless the pieces are carefully protected.

Etymology

From Middle English ternysshen, from Old French terniss-, stem of ternir (“to make dim, make wan”), borrowed from Old High German *ternen, tarnen, from Proto-West Germanic *darnijan (“to conceal”). Doublet of dern and darn.

This word in other languages

oxidación(Español)Anlaufen(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • atrnish
  • tanrish
  • tarinsh
  • tarnihs
  • tarnishh
  • tarnissh
  • tarnnish
  • tarnsih
  • tarrnish
  • tranish
  • ttarnish

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of tarnish - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

atrnish2tanrish2tarinsh2tarnihs2tarnishh1tarnissh1tarnnish1tarnsih2
Edit distance from "tarnish"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "tarnish"?
"tarnish" is spelled T-A-R-N-I-S-H. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈtɑːnɪʃ/.
What does "tarnish" mean?
As a noun, "tarnish" means: Oxidation or discoloration, especially of a decorative metal exposed to air.
What words are commonly confused with "tarnish"?
"tarnish" is commonly confused with "Trish", "Turkish", "tarnished". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "tarnish"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "tarnish" is /ˈtɑːnɪʃ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "tarnish"?
From Middle English ternysshen, from Old French terniss-, stem of ternir (“to make dim, make wan”), borrowed from Old High German *ternen, tarnen, from Proto-West Germanic *darnijan (“to conceal”). Doublet of dern and darn. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "tarnish", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Sudbury#35,101thyself#35,113stepson#35,097torsion#35,117

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

strolled11 variantsstateless11 variantstramway11 variantstumbler11 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list