sully

verb sul·ly \ ˈsə-lē \

Updated on: 16 Apr 2018

Definition of sully

sullied; sullying

transitive verb

: to make soiled or tarnished : defile

See sully defined for English-language learners

See sully defined for kids

sully was our Word of the Day on 05/18/2014. Hear the podcast!

Examples of sully in a Sentence

people that sully our state parks with their trash
a once-gleaming marble interior sullied by decades of exposure to cigarette smoke

Recent Examples of sully from the Web

Corrections in the stock market, especially for tech sector, have also yet to sully Trump, who's been a vocal critic of Amazon and its impact on old-line retailers and its relationship with the post office.

— greg larose, NOLA.com, "Trump says Rasmussen poll results show he's doing better than 'Cheatin Obama'," 3 Apr. 2018
The allegations, whether ultimately proven or dismissed, have sullied his reputation.

— michael mccann, SI.com, "The Potential Legal and NCAA Fallout From Josh Pastner's Lurid Litigation Dispute," 17 Feb. 2018
And, given that firing Mueller would be a massive political gamble, the attempt to sully Mueller may be Trump's best (only?) real recourse here.

— chris cillizza, CNN, "Donald Trump may not be able to fire Robert Mueller. So he's doing the next best thing.," 19 Mar. 2018
His family’s name had recently been sullied by his own father’s misdeeds and subsequent time in prison.

— mary dixie carter, Time, "What Making Deals with Donald Trump and Jared Kushner Taught Me About Deception," 12 Mar. 2018
Opponents — called Antis — were vocal about their fear that women would be sullied by engaging in the man's world of dirty politics; there were even women among their ranks.

— zlati meyer, USA TODAY, "During Women's History Month, book looks at the fight 'to win the vote'," 6 Mar. 2018
Host Jimmy Kimmel ribbed the mogul and others sullied by harassment scandals in his opening monologue, and the ceremony was peppered with additional commentary on Time’s Up, diversity and more.

— nardine saad, latimes.com, "Time's Up has its Oscars moment and touts diversity, inclusion and intersectionality," 5 Mar. 2018
Christian Dorsey, an Arlington County supervisor, said his visits to the park will be sullied by the knowledge that the land has been reduced to a political talking point.

— jenna portnoy, Washington Post, "Here we go again: Republicans want to rename Gravelly Point after Nancy Reagan," 17 Jan. 2018
At least until early in the 2017 season, when a 3-1 start (sullied only by a last-second loss to the Falcons, the defending NFC champs) stirred up fans' imagination and the Lions' swagger.

— shawn windsor, Detroit Free Press, "Detroit Lions GM Bob Quinn must get coaching hire right, or he's gone," 1 Jan. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'sully.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Did You Know?

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." If you're looking for other words that mean "to soil," you can try out befoul, besmirch, blacken, foul, grime, stain, or simply dirty. You might wonder if the English word sullen (meaning "gloomy or morose") is a relative of sully, and the answer is no. Sullen traces back by way of Anglo- and Old French to Latin solus, meaning "alone."