besmirch
Americanverb (used with object)
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besmirches,
present (3rd person singular)
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besmirched,
past participle, past
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besmirching
present participle
verb
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to make dirty; soil
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to reduce the brightness or lustre of
-
to sully (often in the phrase besmirch ( a person's ) name )
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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besmirchsimple
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besmirchessimple
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have besmirchedperfect
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has besmirchedperfect
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am besmirchingprogressive
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are besmirchingprogressive
-
is besmirchingprogressive
-
have been besmirchingperfect progressive
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has been besmirchingperfect progressive
Past
-
besmirchedsimple
-
had besmirchedperfect
-
was besmirchingprogressive
-
were besmirchingprogressive
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had been besmirchingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of besmirch
Explanation
To besmirch means to dirty or tarnish, particularly someone's reputation — like when you call Billy a cheater at kickball (even though you know he's just better at bunting than you). Besmirch may sound kind of funny, but it goes hand in hand with other hurtful words like defame and slander. It can also mean to literally stain something. So that time you tracked mud all over the new white carpet and then blamed it on your little brother? That was a double besmirching — dirtying the rug and then falsely accusing a sibling.
Vocabulary lists containing besmirch
The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "B"
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All About That Baseless: Bad-Faith Accusations
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Steele doesn’t besmirch the data that punishes his Redhawks, but he also says “there’s something to winning.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 2, 2026
As it turns out, Murray’s story doesn’t besmirch Candy’s memory at all.
From Salon ● Oct. 12, 2025
Former treasurer and ex-ambassador to the US Joe Hockey was among those calling for the MP to be identified, on the basis that not doing so would "besmirch" all politicians.
From BBC ● Feb. 28, 2024
“And it would really besmirch the reputation of the Academies, which I felt strongly about defending.”
From New York Times ● Apr. 28, 2023
“How dare you besmirch that magnificent image with your vintner’s hands.”
From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole
"Behaviour like that, whether it's at an Old Firm match or any other football match, besmirches that, and it should absolutely be seen as unacceptable."
From BBC ● Apr. 4, 2022
The prevalence of this ugly fad usage besmirches the language with a jarring oddity, without purpose in clarity or elegance.
From Washington Post ● Aug. 20, 2021
Mud besmirches his van’s tiny, neat living space.
From The Guardian ● Jun. 6, 2018
It is unfortunate that this Times article indirectly besmirches the Yankees.
From New York Times ● Jul. 8, 2017
Prince Napoleon blames M. Taine for quoting "eight times" 'Bourrienne's Memoirs,' and then, letting his feelings loose, he takes advantage of the occasion and cruelly besmirches Bourrienne's name.
From Library of the World's Best Literature, Ancient and Modern — Volume 6 by Hamilton Wright Mabie
“New banks didn’t even call themselves banks and instead used the expression caisses, meaning ‘deposits,’ so besmirched was the banking industry’s reputation.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 12, 2025
Whitfield, who is biracial, claimed that Hassan’s comments about how she got the job on the show besmirched her merits, something that Black women often have to deal with in the workforce.
From Salon ● Feb. 12, 2025
Their besmirched clothes, blistered feet and cracked lips attested to the ordeal of the nine-day trek, but they still danced and jumped to celebrate their accomplishment.
From BBC ● Feb. 3, 2023
Securities and Exchange Commission, had wrongly besmirched Hindenburg’s “well-deserved reputation for thoroughness, precision and accuracy.”
From Reuters ● Feb. 2, 2023
Was there any kind of filth with which he had not besmirched himself, any sin and folly which he had not committed, any stain upon his soul for which he alone had not been responsible?
From "Siddhartha" by Hermann Hesse
Wiping clean the empty high-rise towers besmirching the city skyline with florid graffiti art is a stated priority for buyers and the city, but a federal bankruptcy court has yet to approve the sale.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 28, 2026
Yet having that knowledge somehow doesn't assuage the anxiety that strikes the moment I see a ring of oil-slicked curry from the pot lid besmirching my flawless countertop.
From Salon ● Apr. 18, 2023
The businesses declared themselves outraged by the government besmirching their reputation.
From BBC ● Jan. 18, 2023
“They are targeting this officer and besmirching his reputation for following his attorney’s advice,” Tratnik argued.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 7, 2022
Meanwhile, in rapid flashes of thought he began to debate with himself how he should use this letter in his pocket—this besmirching, degrading letter.
From Sir George Tressady — Volume II by Mrs. Humphry Ward
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
