sully
1 of 2verb
sul·ly ˈsə-lē 
sullied; sullying
transitive verb
: to make soiled or tarnished : defile
sully
2 of 2noun
plural sullies
archaic
: soil, stain
Synonyms
Verb
- befoul
- begrime
- bemire
- besmirch
- blacken
- daub
- dirty
- distain [archaic]
- foul
- gaum [dialect]
- grime
- mire
- muck
- muddy
- smirch
- smudge
- soil
- stain
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
Verb people that sully our state parks with their trash a once-gleaming marble interior sullied by decades of exposure to cigarette smoke
Recent Examples on the Web
New York Times, 7 Apr. 2022 Palin, in her testimony, accused The Times of deliberately fabricating lies to sully her reputation. Aaron Katersky, ABC News, 14 Feb. 2022 Palin, in her testimony, accused The Times of deliberately fabricating information to sully her reputation. Bill Hutchinson, ABC News, 15 Feb. 2022 Seriously, if King wants to sully the reputation of New York with his ridiculous antics, fine. Los Angeles Times, 3 Feb. 2022 Anyway, what would be the point of selling people on a safe space just to sully it with dangers? Alex Shephard, The New Republic, 8 Nov. 2021 On March 16th, Josh Vlasto, a longtime adviser to Cuomo, wrote in a group text that Cohen had approached him about the effort to sully Kim. Ronan Farrow, The New Yorker, 10 Aug. 2021 Unplanned bathroom breaks can sully a pleasant hike. Siena Giljum, Los Angeles Times, 12 July 2021 Plus, if Susie allows even a speck of her outrage to sully her son’s relationship with his dad, then her offense would be worse than your hitting on Debbie. Washington Post, 29 June 2020 See More
Verb
Overcoming a concerted effort by Republicans to sully her record and derail her nomination, Judge Jackson was confirmed on a 53-to-47 vote, with three Republicans joining all 50 members of the Democratic caucus in backing her. New York Times, 7 Apr. 2022 Palin, in her testimony, accused The Times of deliberately fabricating lies to sully her reputation. Aaron Katersky, ABC News, 14 Feb. 2022 Palin, in her testimony, accused The Times of deliberately fabricating information to sully her reputation. Bill Hutchinson, ABC News, 15 Feb. 2022 Seriously, if King wants to sully the reputation of New York with his ridiculous antics, fine. Los Angeles Times, 3 Feb. 2022 Anyway, what would be the point of selling people on a safe space just to sully it with dangers? Alex Shephard, The New Republic, 8 Nov. 2021 On March 16th, Josh Vlasto, a longtime adviser to Cuomo, wrote in a group text that Cohen had approached him about the effort to sully Kim. Ronan Farrow, The New Yorker, 10 Aug. 2021 Unplanned bathroom breaks can sully a pleasant hike. Siena Giljum, Los Angeles Times, 12 July 2021 Plus, if Susie allows even a speck of her outrage to sully her son’s relationship with his dad, then her offense would be worse than your hitting on Debbie. Washington Post, 29 June 2020 See More Word History
Etymology
Verb
Middle English *sullien, probably alteration (influenced by Anglo-French suillier, soiller to soil) of sulen to soil, from Old English sylian
First Known Use
Verb
15th century, in the meaning defined above
Noun
1601, in the meaning defined above
Biographical Definition
Sully 1 of 2
biographical name (1)
Sul·ly ˈsə-lē
(ˌ)sə-ˈlē,
sᵫ-ˈlē
Duc de 1560–1641 Maximilien de Béthune Baron de Rosny də-rō-ˈnē French statesman
French statesman Sully
2 of 2biographical name (2)
Sul·ly ˈsə-lē
Thomas 1783–1872 American (English-born) painter
sullies
verb
as in stains
to make dirty people that sully our state parks with their trash a once-gleaming marble interior sullied by decades of exposure to cigarette smoke Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- stains
- blackens
- dirties
- besmirches
- mucks
- messes
- soils
- muddies
- befouls
- smudges
- grimes
- pollutes
- taints
- daubs
- mires
- contaminates
- gaums
- smirches
- distains
- begrimes
- defiles
- bemires
- discolors
- fouls
- disorders
- muddles
- jumbles
- disarranges
- confuses
- dishevels
- disarrays
- draggles
- crocks
- collies
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- cleans
- cleanses
- purifies
- decontaminates
- sanitizes
- purges
- sweeps
- disinfects
- wipes
- brightens
- washes
- renews
- launders
- dusts
- scours
- brushes
- freshens
- rinses
- scrubs
- mops
- deodorizes
- straightens (up)
- spruces (up)
- dry-cleans
- tidies (up)