besmirch
to soil; tarnish; discolor.
to detract from the honor or luster of: to besmirch someone's good name.
Origin of besmirch
1Other words for besmirch
Other words from besmirch
- be·smirch·er, noun
- un·be·smirched, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use besmirch in a sentence
He has a sense of honor and an instinct for revenge when he feels his honor has been besmirched.
How McCain Got Caught in His Own Vicious Cycle | Sidney Blumenthal | October 15, 2008 | THE DAILY BEASTBecause the injustice and absurdity of English law had distorted and besmirched her own perfectly legitimate action.
Marriage la mode | Mrs. Humphry WardNowhere was there a cloud—a speckless day in the middle of a week that had threatened to keep the sky besmirched.
An Arkansas Planter | Opie Percival ReadWe know a butcher whose children are not merely dirty—they are fearfully and wonderfully besmirched by the hand of an artist.
The Fiend's Delight | Dod GrileThe stove smoked a great deal and the white walls were soon besmirched with a layer of soot.
The Home of the Blizzard | Douglas Mawson
Quite close to the young lovers a heathen cut down a Christian who was carrying the besmirched head of a Muse.
Serapis, Complete | Georg Ebers
British Dictionary definitions for besmirch
/ (bɪˈsmɜːtʃ) /
to make dirty; soil
to reduce the brightness or lustre of
to sully (often in the phrase besmirch (a person's) name)
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
Browse