blemish

noun

1. A small flaw which spoils the appearance of something, a stain, a spot.

   “Ye shall offer at your own will a male without blemish, of the beeves, of the sheep, or of the goats.”

   “Any foot shape deviating from this model is conceived as a blemish, and the animal is unclean.”

   “There are a very large number of types of blemish and the smallest blemish visible to a human can be surprisingly small, for example less than 10μm deep, which may be on the surface of a heavily embossed tile.”

   “It comes as a surprise to some people, but blemishes can strike at any age. To minimize the appearance of facial blemishes or pimples, use a concealer with a dry texture; it will cling to the blemish better, last throughout the day, and not irritate the skin or initiate more breakouts.”

2. A moral defect; a character flaw.

   “As piety is the peculiar ornament of old people, so the want of it is a peculiar blemish in their character.”

   “The processes of categorization, stereotyping, discrimination, and self-fulfilling prophecy can also apply to stigmas based on blemishes of individual character.”

   “There is no reason to think that the enlivening possible blemish was his hypocritical show of repentance, since there are so many other candidate blemishes to choose among.”

verb

1. (transitive)To spoil the appearance of.

   “we see ordinarie examples by this licence which wonderfully blemisheth the authoritie and lustre of our law, never to stay upon one sentence, but to run from one to another judge, to decide one same case.”

   “Generally, varieties in current use for processing are resilient, if not wholly resistant to blemishing diseases and disorders.”

   “I mean it reaches a point of ridiculousness in some regards, and one′s seen actually many good schemes here in San Francisco, for example, that have been blemished by an overly strict adherence to codes.”

2. (transitive)To tarnish (reputation, character, etc.); to defame.

   “There had nothing passed betwixt us that might blemish reputation.”