sully
verb (used with object)
to soil, stain, or tarnish.
sully
1 American
[suhl-ee]
/ ˈsʌl i /
verb (used with object)
-
sullies,
present (3rd person singular)
-
sullied,
past participle, past
-
sullying
present participle
verb (used without object)
-
sullies,
present (3rd person singular)
-
sullied,
past participle, past
-
sullying
present participle
noun
-
sullies
plural
Sully
2
American
[suhl-ee, sy -lee]
/ ˈsʌl i, süˈli /
noun
-
Maximilien de Béthune Duc de, 1560–1641, French statesman.
-
Thomas, 1783–1872, U.S. painter, born in England.
sully
1
British
/ ˈsʌlɪ /
verb
noun
-
a stain
-
the act of sullying
Sully
2
British
/ sylli, ˈsʌlɪ /
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
sullysimple
-
sulliessimple
-
have sulliedperfect
-
has sulliedperfect
-
am sullyingprogressive
-
are sullyingprogressive
-
is sullyingprogressive
-
have been sullyingperfect progressive
-
has been sullyingperfect progressive
Past
-
sulliedsimple
-
had sulliedperfect
-
was sullyingprogressive
-
were sullyingprogressive
-
had been sullyingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of sully
First recorded in 1585–95; origin uncertain
Explanation
To sully is to attack someone's good name and to try to ruin his reputation. If you spread false rumors that there's chicken stock in the vegetarian entree at Joe's Diner, you would sully Joe's good reputation. Sully can also mean to tarnish or make spotty. It's easy to remember this meaning when you know that sully comes from the Middle French word souiller, meaning, "make dirty." For example, dripping chocolate sauce onto the table will sully your mother's new white tablecloth. Another meaning of sully is to corrupt or cast suspicion on. If an automaker recalls millions of vehicles due to safety problems, it doesn't exactly inspire confidence — in fact, it may sully their brand.
Vocabulary lists containing sully
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Bud, Not Buddy
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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:
Macron almost immediately responded on X: "Shame on those who wanted to sully his memory," he wrote.
From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2025
He feels waiting any longer would just sully his father’s name.
From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2024
Why would millennials, unable to own their own places, sully the site of our nostalgia by playing as landlords?
From Slate ● Apr. 3, 2024
Piers Morgan is staying true to form in his latest criticism of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, trying to make something out of nothing as he continuously endeavors to sully their reputations.
From Salon ● Mar. 25, 2024
“Well, Bud, I don’t mean to sully your reputation, but you just ran away from that man all the way across the state, I think I’d better hand-deliver you.”
From "Bud, Not Buddy" by Christopher Paul Curtis
Next came a year of auditions in Australia and the U.S. before I was cast as Jake Sully in “Avatar.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 16, 2026
Without fail, the miniature version of me would blubber at Sully the polka dot monster reuniting with Boo, and Marlin the clownfish traversing the ocean to find his son.
From Salon ● Jun. 6, 2026
One of the competitors, Hailey Krahenbuhl, wrote on Facebook that her horse, Sully, was one of the horses injured in the attack.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 1, 2026
The movie once again stars Zoe Saldana and Sam Worthington as Na'vi warrior Neytiri and ex-Marine Jake Sully, who must battle a new foe threatening their family's life on Pandora.
From Barron's ● Dec. 21, 2025
Sully shot a quick glance at Lily, then got a pained look across his face.
From "A Monster Calls" by Patrick Ness
"This summit does not dignify anyone, rather, it dirties them, it sullies them. We Latin Americans have to defend ourselves so that they respect us."
From Reuters ● May 19, 2022
Trivializing the suffering of those targeted for extermination by comparing it to modern-day difficulties sullies the memory of the victims.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 31, 2022
The least important is the structure itself, unless it sullies the site it occupies and increases the indebtedness of the people it serves.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 28, 2020
No such fluff sullies the lexicon of Burke’s latest character.
From The Guardian ● Aug. 16, 2019
It sullies a link in affection’s young chain, That, once slightly tarnished, ne’er sparkles again, Spoils the sheaves that the heart in its summer would bind, To guard ’gainst a bleak, leafless autumn of mind.
From Heart Utterances at Various Periods of a Chequered Life by Eliza Paul Gurney
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
Now-Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood experienced similar hostility despite holding the Ladywood constituency, describing it as a campaign "sullied by harassment and intimidation" of her, her family and supporters.
From BBC ● Oct. 12, 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 fit me perfectly, sullied only by the despicable blue cockade I pinned to my breast.
From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan
As far back as the 1930s, during the infamous “Bodyline” tour, English bowlers were accused of sullying the game by aiming balls directly at Australian batsmen.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 21, 2025
"I think it's greedy - monetising something that is so pure like Test cricket feels like it is sullying the game. It just doesn't sit right with me."
From BBC ● Jan. 7, 2025
The Senegalese filmmaker Ousmane Sembène rendered myth a visual map that rescued the African past from the sullying grasp of empire.
From New York Times ● Sep. 8, 2023
Miller has adamantly denied the charges and on Wednesday filed a defamation suit accusing Grisham of sullying his name.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 7, 2021
Worse, he is sullying the only thing her family owns: its good name.
From "Enrique's Journey" by Sonia Nazario
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