unsullied
Americanadjective
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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.
Even in these cases, a particular moral clarity persists: War may be terrible, egos corrupt and violence seductive, but there’s always at least one character whose vision remains unsullied.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 18, 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
Whether that be naivety or merely unsullied optimism, it’s captured explicitly by the use of the word “lovers” all over the branding for his first collection.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 14, 2024
Even today there are scientists opposed to the popularization of science: the sacred knowledge is to be kept within the cult, unsullied by public understanding.
From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan
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.
