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besmirch was our Word of the Day on 03/14/2017. Hear the podcast!
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Examples of besmirch in a Sentence
inconsiderately besmirched the white bedsheets with their dirty feet
Recent Examples of besmirch from the Web
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The elegant granite structure, whose architectural character Trump had promised to preserve, was now besmirched by a gaudy, faux-gold sign bearing his name.
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For example, a few nitrogen atoms among a diamond’s millions of carbon atoms can make the rock appear yellow or brown, while blue diamonds have been besmirched with a few boron atoms.
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When Andy Herrera grabbed the besmirched the croqueta, it was smeared in sugary, white frosting.
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The Root would never stoop so low as to besmirch the upstanding character of a great American citizen like Joe Arpaio.
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That may be an overstatement; unlike Mr. Christie, whose former aides implicated him at trial for knowing of the decision to close bridge lanes, Mr. Cuomo has not been similarly besmirched.
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Why does Brady besmirch himself by appearing on those airwaves in the first place?
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Anyone who besmirches his sanctity is a heathen, a liar or—even worse—a Democrat.
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But rumors that the film besmirched the Rajputs' honor did not die, egged on by leaders of a fringe group known as the Rajput Karni Sena.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'besmirch.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Did You Know?
Since the prefix be- in besmirch means "to make or cause to be," when you besmirch something, you cause it to have a smirch. What's a smirch? A smirch is a stain, and "to smirch" is to stain or make dirty. By extension, "to smirch" came to mean "to bring discredit or disgrace on." "Smirch" and "besmirch," then, mean essentially the same thing. We have William Shakespeare to thank for the variation in form. Shakespeare's 1599 use of the term in Henry V is the first known appearance of "besmirch" in English.
First Known Use of besmirch
circa 1616
besmirch Synonyms
Synonyms
befoul, begrime, bemire, blacken, daub, dirty, foul, grime, mire, muck, muddy, smirch, smudge, soil, stain, sully;
Near Antonyms
brush, dry-clean, dust, launder, mop, rinse, scour, scrub, sweep, wash, wipe;
Related Words
contaminate, defile, pollute, taint;
confuse, disarrange, disarray, dishevel, disorder, draggle, jumble, mess, muddle;
BESMIRCH Defined for English Language Learners
Definition of besmirch for English Language Learners
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: to cause harm or damage to (the reputation of someone or something)
Learn More about besmirch
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See words that rhyme with besmirch Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for besmirch Spanish Central: Translation of besmirch Nglish: Translation of besmirch for Spanish speakers
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