unsullied
Americanadjective
-
not soiled, untarnished.
an unsullied public persona.
-
virginal; pure.
He wears a purity ring signifying that he will remain unsullied until marriage.
adjective
Etymology
Origin of unsullied
Explanation
Your reputation is unsullied, or unsoiled, because you study hard, you don’t skip school, and you are generally kind to everyone. Your friend’s reputation hasn’t stayed unsullied since he got caught selling answers to tests. To understand the adjective unsullied, you must understand its root, sully, "to soil or tarnish." Something unsullied is spotless: you usually refer to things in the abstract in this way — your military record may be unsullied by disciplinary actions, your report card may be unsullied by grades lower than A.
Vocabulary lists containing unsullied
"To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee, Chapters 1–6
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Into the Wild
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The Bluest Eye
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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.
In Costanzo’s closing aria, “Gandhi’s Prayer,” he leaves behind, Christ-like, hatred and exultation for unsullied love.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 21, 2026
There was something sort of thrilling in the sense that we were pioneers in a brand-new millennium, one so fresh and unsullied.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 30, 2025
He describes a large rustic loaf “held close to the heart,” sliced toward the body in a communal sacrament, representing an elemental and ancient loaf unsullied by ultra-processing or bleached flour.
From Slate ● Mar. 15, 2025
But the nirvana many authorities assume teen life would be if unsullied by screens is the diametric opposite of teens’ reality.
From Salon ● Apr. 12, 2024
It hung on a nail near his bed—unfrayed, unsullied after all those years, with only the permanent bend in the fabric made by its long life on a nail.
From "Sula" by Toni Morrison
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.
