What does attaint mean?
To attaint someone is to inflict disgrace upon them or, in its strict legal sense, to condemn them of treason or a serious crime in a way that carries lasting penalties beyond the individual. In English law, an act of attainder not only stripped the convicted person of their property but also imposed 'corruption of blood', preventing their descendants from inheriting titles or land. Though the practice has long been abolished, the term endures in constitutional contexts — notably in the United States, where bills of attainder are expressly forbidden. Outside law, attaint appears rarely and only in formal or literary writing to mean to sully or stain a reputation. Derived from the same Latin root as 'attain' and 'contact' (attingere, 'to touch'), it carries a distinctly weighty, historical register, making it useful precisely when ordinary words like 'shame' feel too mild.
To disgrace or dishonor; specifically (in historical law) to convict of treason or felony so as to cause forfeiture and corruption of blood.
"The nobleman was attainted after the failed uprising, and his estates passed to the Crown."
Chiefly used in passive or past-participle forms ('attainted') in modern writing.
A conviction of treason or felony carrying corruption of blood; also, disgrace or dishonor brought upon someone.
"The bill of attaint was read aloud before both houses of Parliament."
Rarely used in the plural; the noun form appears mostly in fixed legal phrases like 'act of attainder'.
"The chronicle records the several attaints imposed on the rebels."
In medieval England, being 'attainted' for treason meant your blood was legally declared corrupted — your children could inherit nothing, as if you had never existed.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of attaint
Attaint comes from Old French ataindre, 'to reach, touch, or convict', itself from Latin attingere, 'to touch or reach'. It entered Middle English in the fourteenth century, initially meaning to convict, especially of treason, and later broadened to mean to disgrace or morally stain. It shares its Latin root with 'attain', 'taint', 'contact', and 'tangible', all ultimately tracing back to tangere, 'to touch'. The related legal noun 'attainder' preserves the word's most historically significant sense.
Related word forms
How attaint is actually used
Highly formal and largely archaic; today found mainly in legal-historical contexts such as discussions of bills of attainder, or in elevated literary prose. In American constitutional law, 'bill of attainder' survives actively because the U.S. Constitution expressly prohibits it.
Easily confused with attaint
'Taint' means to contaminate or corrupt something generally, while 'attaint' is a more formal, chiefly legal term meaning to convict or bring disgrace upon a person.
'Attain' means to achieve or reach something, whereas 'attaint' means to disgrace or legally condemn; they differ only slightly in spelling but nearly opposite in sense.