sully
verb /ˈsʌli/
/ˈsʌli/
(formal or literary)Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they sully | /ˈsʌli/ /ˈsʌli/ |
| he / she / it sullies | /ˈsʌliz/ /ˈsʌliz/ |
| past simple sullied | /ˈsʌlid/ /ˈsʌlid/ |
| past participle sullied | /ˈsʌlid/ /ˈsʌlid/ |
| -ing form sullying | /ˈsʌliɪŋ/ /ˈsʌliɪŋ/ |
- sully something to damage or reduce the value of something
- By cheating they have sullied the good name of their country.
- sully something to make something dirty
- She wondered if she dared risk sullying the gleaming sink.
Word Originlate 16th cent.: perhaps from French souiller ‘to soil’.