sully
to soil, stain, or tarnish.
to mar the purity or luster of; defile: to sully a reputation.
to become sullied, soiled, or tarnished.
Obsolete. a stain; soil.
Origin of sully
1Other words for sully
Other words from sully
- sul·li·a·ble, adjective
- un·sul·li·a·ble, adjective
Other definitions for Sully (2 of 2)
Ma·xi·mi·lien de Bé·thune [mak-see-mee-lyanduhbey-tyn], /mak si miˈlyɛ̃ də beɪˈtün/, Duc de, 1560–1641, French statesman.
Thomas, 1783–1872, U.S. painter, born in England.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use sully in a sentence
He resisted the most powerful temptations, and there is no recorded act which sullies his memory.
Beacon Lights of History, Volume II | John LordThat it is which sullies the honor of your name much more than the storm has injured your cloak!
The Bath Keepers, v.1 (Novels of Paul de Kock Volume VII) | Charles Paul de KockI hear her husband left her well to do; And as for that small blot that sullies her 'Twill fade when covered by thy name.
The Scarlet Stigma | James Edgar SmithJustice is a great ideal; any endeavor to incarnate it in human institutions sullies its purity.
The Meaning of Faith | Harry Emerson FosdickIts political alliance invariably sullies whatever primitive purity it may be believed to possess.
Exempting the Churches | James F. Morton. Jr.
British Dictionary definitions for sully (1 of 2)
/ (ˈsʌlɪ) /
to stain or tarnish (a reputation, etc) or (of a reputation) to become stained or tarnished
a stain
the act of sullying
Origin of sully
1Derived forms of sully
- sulliable, adjective
British Dictionary definitions for Sully (2 of 2)
/ (ˈsʌlɪ, French sylli) /
Maximilien de Béthune (maksimiljɛ̃ də betyn), Duc de Sully. 1559–1641, French statesman; minister of Henry IV. He helped restore the finances of France after the Wars of Religion
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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