Synonyms
Examples of sully in a Sentence
Randall Colburn, EW.com, 19 Dec. 2023
Even Facebook — with a notoriously fraught relationship with Washington lawmakers — launched on college campuses 13 years before its Cambridge Analytica scandal and fallout from the 2016 election sullied its reputation.
—Elizabeth Dwoskin, Washington Post, 9 Apr. 2024
His publicist at the time would not comment on whether the traffic infractions and exposure may have sullied Diddy on Miami Beach.
—Howard Cohen, Miami Herald, 26 Mar. 2024
Anyone inclined to wring their hands over TikTok’s role in sullying public discourse and internet safety in this country must acknowledge the role of all the leading social media platforms — not only Meta but X and YouTube.
—Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 14 Mar. 2024
As the truth shifts under Jim’s feet, his view of the world is left forever sullied.
—Ellise Shafer, Variety, 28 Feb. 2024
One of them complained in one exchange that the Ukrainian president was like Brad Pitt, a global star with an image that couldn’t be sullied.
—Catherine Belton, Washington Post, 16 Feb. 2024
Critics and rights groups say the vote follows a troubling pattern, where the past two elections held under Hasina were sullied by allegations of vote-rigging — which authorities have denied — and another boycott by opposition parties.
—TIME, 8 Jan. 2024
Toshiba’s good name was sullied in recent years by a major accounting scandal and the collapse of energy subsidiary Westinghouse.
—David Meyer, Fortune, 20 Dec. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'sully.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Verb
Middle English *sullien, probably alteration (influenced by Anglo-French suillier, soiller to soil) of sulen to soil, from Old English sylian
Verb
15th century, in the meaning defined above
Noun
1601, in the meaning defined above
Articles Related to sully
Podcast
Theme music by Joshua Stamper ©2006 New Jerusalem Music/ASCAP
Get Word of the Day delivered to your inbox!
Dictionary Entries Near sully
Cite this Entry
“Sully.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sully. Accessed 16 Apr. 2024.
Copy Citation
Kids Definition
sully
verb
Share