besmirch
verb (used with object)
to soil; tarnish; discolor.
had besmirched
-
past perfectof besmirch.past perfect
Used to express a completed action that took place before another specific past action occurred.
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.
And the hate mail I got from readers at the time included one from a person who was upset that I had besmirched the good name of Bradley Cooper!
From Slate ● Mar. 28, 2022
He was serially evicted from those galleries and museums he had besmirched in print, and on one occasion was attacked with an umbrella in Bond Street by an outraged art dealer.
From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2015
Nutter vowed to cut the murder rate in half and weed out the cronyism that had besmirched the previous administration.
From MSNBC ● May 19, 2015
Mr. Biden had besmirched New York City’s airports this year by likening an arrival at La Guardia to landing in “some third-world country.”
From New York Times ● Dec. 7, 2014
After an experience which had besmirched every ideal and bemocked every faith, the young Frenchman's talk had carried the lad once more into the full tide of poetry and romance.
From The History of David Grieve by Ward, Humphry, Mrs.
