sully

[ suhl-ee ]
See synonyms for sully on Thesaurus.com
verb (used with object),sul·lied, sul·ly·ing.
  1. to soil, stain, or tarnish.

  2. to mar the purity or luster of; defile: to sully a reputation.

verb (used without object),sul·lied, sul·ly·ing.
  1. to become sullied, soiled, or tarnished.

noun,plural sul·lies.
  1. Obsolete. a stain; soil.

Origin of sully

1
First recorded in 1585–95; origin uncertain

Other 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)

Sully
[ suhl-ee; for 1 also French sy-lee ]

noun
  1. Ma·xi·mi·lien de Bé·thune [mak-see-mee-lyanduhbey-tyn], /mak si miˈlyɛ̃ də beɪˈtün/, Duc de, 1560–1641, French statesman.

  2. 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.

  • That it is which sullies the honor of your name much more than the storm has injured your cloak!

  • I 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 Smith
  • Justice is a great ideal; any endeavor to incarnate it in human institutions sullies its purity.

    The Meaning of Faith | Harry Emerson Fosdick
  • Its 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)

sully

/ (ˈsʌlɪ) /


verb-lies, -lying or -lied
  1. to stain or tarnish (a reputation, etc) or (of a reputation) to become stained or tarnished

nounplural -lies
  1. a stain

  2. the act of sullying

Origin of sully

1
C16: probably from French souiller to soil

Derived forms of sully

  • sulliable, adjective

British Dictionary definitions for Sully (2 of 2)

Sully

/ (ˈsʌlɪ, French sylli) /


noun
  1. 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