blotch vs stain

blotch

noun
  • Imperfection; blemish on one’s reputation, stain. 

  • An irregularly shaped area. 

  • An uneven patch of color or discoloration. 

  • A bright or dark spot on old film caused by dirt and loss of the gelatin covering the film, due to age and poor film quality. 

  • A dark spot on the skin; a pustule. 

  • Blotting paper. 

  • Any of various crop diseases that cause the plant to form spots. 

verb
  • To develop blotches, to become blotchy. 

  • To mark with blotches. 

stain

noun
  • A blemish on one's character or reputation. 

  • A reagent or dye used to stain microscope specimens so as to make some structures visible. 

  • A discoloured spot or area. 

  • Any of a number of non-standard tinctures used in modern heraldry. 

  • A substance used to soak into a surface and colour it. 

verb
  • To cause to seem inferior or soiled by comparison. 

  • To coat a surface with a stain 

  • To treat (a microscopic specimen) with a dye, especially one that dyes specific features 

  • To taint or tarnish someone's character or reputation 

  • To discolour. 

  • To become stained; to take a stain. 

How often have the words blotch and stain occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )