Synonyms
Examples of sully in a Sentence
Joseph Wilson, Anchorage Daily News, 10 Sep. 2023
The Springfield Police Department has a troubled history and a reputation sullied by a litany of excessive force, domestic abuse, and child rape cases throughout the last decade.
—Hanna Krueger, BostonGlobe.com, 6 Sep. 2023
The furor has further sullied the Southeast Asian nation’s leadership transition following May’s election—polls that Srettha’s Pheu Thai party pointedly did not win.
—TIME, 11 Oct. 2023
Such disasters have inspired backlash against biocontrol, sullying its public image and spooking policymakers.
—Nala Rogers, Popular Mechanics, 9 Aug. 2023
Roc Nation officials planned for the exhibit to surprise Jay-Z, but speculative reports throughout the week may have sullied their secrecy.
—Andre Gee, Rolling Stone, 14 July 2023
Five years after the groundbreaking on Mulholland Highway, the deadly collapse of the St. Francis Dam, which claimed more than 400 lives, forever-after sullied the reputation of the renowned civic engineer William Mulholland.
—Patt Morrisoncolumnist, Los Angeles Times, 16 Feb. 2023
The pact covers all present and future claims that PFAS sullied drinking water supplies at any level, according to the company.
—Ryan Beene, BostonGlobe.com, 22 June 2023
Critics say that Sharp sullied the reputation of the BBC, one of the world’s premier news organizations, and that his introduction of a potential benefactor for Johnson, before his appointment as chair of the BBC, was a conflict of interest.
—William Booth, Washington Post, 28 Apr. 2023
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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
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Cite this Entry
“Sully.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sully. Accessed 4 Dec. 2023.
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Kids Definition
sully
verb
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