attaint

/ə'teint/

Thân thiện

The judge attainted the nobleman for treason.

Definition

1. Verb:
   • To condemn by a sentence of attainder: In legal contexts, "attaint" refers to the act of pronouncing a sentence of attainder, which historically meant declaring a person guilty of treason or a felony, resulting in the loss of civil rights and the forfeiture of property.
   • To bring disgrace or dishonor upon; to stain: More broadly, it means to tarnish someone's honor, reputation, or character.

Examples of Usage

• Verb (Legal condemnation):

  • The court moved to attaint the nobleman for his treason against the crown.
  • In medieval times, to be attainted was to suffer civil death.

• Verb (Bringing dishonor):

  • His cowardly actions attainted the family name for generations.
  • She feared that the scandal would attaint her professional standing.

Advanced Usage

• "to be attainted of": This formal, often historical, construction specifies the crime.
  • He was attainted of high treason and his lands were seized by the state.

Variants and Related Words

• Attainder (n): The legal act or process of attainting; the consequences of being attainted.
  • The bill of attainder was a legislative act declaring a person guilty without a trial.

Synonyms

• Condemn: To pronounce guilty.
• Disgrace: To bring shame or dishonor.
• Stain: To tarnish or sully.
• Dishonor: To deprive of honor.

Notes on Usage

• The legal sense of "attaint" is now largely historical and archaic, primarily encountered in texts about medieval or early modern law.
• The more general sense of bringing dishonor is also formal and literary, not common in everyday modern speech.

Học thuật

Verb

1. condemn by attainder
   • the man was attainted
2. bring shame or dishonor upon
   • he dishonored his family by committing a serious crime

Từ đồng nghĩa

• dishonor
• disgrace
• dishonour
• shame