sullied

American

[suhl-eed] / ˈsʌl id /

adjective

soiled, stained, or tarnished.

He was above the sullied reputations of some party members, who were thought to be corrupt, greedy, and arrogant.
To a lover of reading, how beautiful are the sullied pages and worn-out appearance of a well-used book!

verb

the simple past tense and past participle of sully.

Other Word Forms

unsullied

adjective

Etymology

Origin of sullied

sully + -ed ² ( def. )

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.

But he has been tipped to potentially replace Thomas Tuchel as England boss after the World Cup and will not want his reputation sullied by a poor end to the season.

From Barron's • Feb. 8, 2026

Sweeping ocean views are sullied by hollow shells of graffiti-tagged homes and miles of chain-link fencing.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 22, 2025

Customers complained about long wait times and high prices, and crowds of impatient customers picking up mobile orders sullied the experience for those who still wanted to linger.

From The Wall Street Journal • Sep. 20, 2025

It has a history of bad actors who have sullied crypto’s good name by issuing stablecoins that turned out not to be stable.

From Slate • May 21, 2025

He drew over the picture the sheet of thin paper on which I was accustomed to rest my hand in painting, to prevent the cardboard from being sullied.

From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023