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The spelling of sully has shifted several times since it was sylian in Old English, but its meaning has remained essentially the same: "to soil." In case you are wondering whether sullen (meaning "gloomy or morose") is a relative, the answer is "no." Sullen comes from Latin solus, meaning "alone."
Examples of sully in a Sentence
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
John Hollinger, New York Times, 5 June 2026
Soap invited its viewers to take jabs at the genre in a time when the soap opera’s reputation had already been sullied in the American mind.
—Literary Hub, 18 May 2026
He was accused of abusing boys, a charge that went unproven but sullied his reputation in Europe.
—Amanda Rosa
updated April 28, Miami Herald, 28 Apr. 2026
In its first go-round, Beef was ripe with curiosity about first-gen immigrant families and how the fear of leaving home stagnates and sullies us.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 16 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for sully
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Verb
The Spurs were a ghastly 11 of 46 from the perimeter, sullying an otherwise analytically pristine shot chart that included only four non-paint 2s.
—John Hollinger, New York Times, 5 June 2026
Soap invited its viewers to take jabs at the genre in a time when the soap opera’s reputation had already been sullied in the American mind.
—Literary Hub, 18 May 2026
He was accused of abusing boys, a charge that went unproven but sullied his reputation in Europe.
—Amanda Rosa
updated April 28, Miami Herald, 28 Apr. 2026
In its first go-round, Beef was ripe with curiosity about first-gen immigrant families and how the fear of leaving home stagnates and sullies us.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 16 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for sully
Cite this Entry
“Sully.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sully. Accessed 10 Jun. 2026.
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