sully

• POS: Noun, Verb (usu participle)
• HYPHEN: sul=ly

CIDE DICTIONARY

sully, v. t. [OE. sulien, AS. sylian, fr. sol mire; akin to G. suhle mire, sich, sÜhlen to wallow, Sw. söla to bemire, Dan. söle, Goth. bisaulijan to defile.].

 To soil; to dirty; to spot; to tarnish; to stain; to darken; -- used literally and figuratively; as, to sully a sword; to sully a person's reputation.  [1913 Webster]
"Statues sullied yet with sacrilegious smoke."  [1913 Webster]
"No spots to sully the brightness of this solemnity."  [1913 Webster]

sully, v. i. 

 To become soiled or tarnished.  [1913 Webster]
"Silvering will sully and canker more than gilding."  [1913 Webster]

sully, n. 

 Soil; tarnish; stain.  [1913 Webster]
"A noble and triumphant merit breaks through little spots and sullies in his reputation."  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

sully, v.tr. (-ies, -ied)
1 disgrace or tarnish (a person's reputation or character, a victory, etc.).
2 poet. dirty; soil.

Etymology

perh. f. F souiller (as SOIL(2))

THESAURUS

sully

abuse, attaint, bedaub, befoul, benasty, besmear, besmirch, besmutch, besoil, bespatter, betray, black, blacken, blemish, blot, blow upon, brand, call names, censure, contaminate, corrupt, daub, debauch, deceive, defame, defile, deflower, demoralize, denigrate, despoil, destroy, dirty, disapprove, discolor, disgrace, disparage, engage in personalities, expose, expose to infamy, force, foul, gibbet, hang in effigy, heap dirt upon, infect, lead astray, mar, mess, mess up, mislead, muckrake, nasty, pillory, pollute, rape, ravage, ravish, reprimand, revile, ruin, seduce, shame, slubber, slur, smear, smirch, smouch, smudge, smut, smutch, soil, spoil, spot, stain, stigmatize, taint, tar, tarnish, throw mud at, vilify, violate, vitiate, wreck

ROGET THESAURUS

sully

Uncleanness

VB be unclean, become unclean, rot, putrefy, ferment, fester, rankle, reek, stink, mold, molder, go bad, render unclean, dirt, dirty, daub, blot, blur, smudge, smutch, soil, smoke, tarnish, slaver, spot, smear, smirch, begrease, dabble, drabble, draggle, daggle, spatter, slubber, besmear, bemire, beslime, begrime, befoul, splash, stain, distain, maculate, sully, pollute, defile, debase, contaminate, taint, leaven, corrupt, cover with dust, drabble in the mud, roil, wallow in the mire, slobber, slabber.