Merriam-Webster Logo
SINCE 1828
dictionary thesaurus view recents

sully

verb
Save Word
sul·​ly | \ ˈsə-lē How to pronounce sully (audio) \
sullied; sullying

Definition of sully

 (Entry 1 of 4)

transitive verb

: to make soiled or tarnished : defile

sully

noun
plural sullies

Definition of sully (Entry 2 of 4)

archaic
: soil, stain

Sully

biographical name (1)
Sul·​ly | \ ˈsə-lē How to pronounce Sully (audio) , (ˌ)sə-ˈlē, sᵫ-ˈlē \

Definition of Sully (Entry 3 of 4)

Duc de 1560–1641 Maximilien de Béthune Baron de Rosny \ də-​rō-​ˈnē How to pronounce Sully (audio) \ French statesman

Sully

biographical name (2)
Sul·​ly | \ ˈsə-lē How to pronounce Sully (audio) \

Definition of Sully (Entry 4 of 4)

Thomas 1783–1872 American (English-born) painter
Synonyms & Antonyms Did You Know? Example Sentences Learn More about sully

Keep scrolling for more

Synonyms & Antonyms for sully

Synonyms: Verb

Antonyms: Verb

Visit the Thesaurus for More 

Did You Know?

Verb

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."

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: Verb Sleights of hand sullied the reputations of Teddy Roosevelt, Wilson, FDR, Kennedy, Johnson and Reagan, giving Trump’s mistruths a long history. — Washington Post, "Searching presidential history for clues to Trump’s rise," 28 May 2020 The high death toll in nursing homes also sullies Sweden’s record. — Peter Coy, Bloomberg.com, "The Swedish Model Trades More Disease for Less Economic Damage," 16 May 2020 The company suffered further embarrassment from internal messages, which sullied Boeing’s reputation for safety and engineering prowess. — Julie Johnsson, Fortune, "Boeing reports historic earnings loss as 737 MAX costs surpass $18 billion," 29 Jan. 2020 And there certainly wasn’t a sense of impending forgiveness, which our society seems willing to bestow on so many sullied public figures, be they Hugh Grant or Alex Rodriguez, Sean Spicer or Tiger Woods. — Gabe Lacques, USA TODAY, "Injured parties, defiant execs and a tainted title: Houston Astros' sign-stealing scandal checks all the boxes," 15 Jan. 2020 The Law and Justice party uses public television station TVP to praise the government’s achievements and to sully the standing of political opponents. — Time, "Poland's President Signs Bill Funding Public Media Amid Reelection Campaign," 7 Mar. 2020 But in the case of analyzing extraterrestrial rocks, such transgressions could easily sully the samples, potentially leading to a false discovery of Martian life. — Robin George Andrews, Scientific American, "Rocks, Rockets and Robots: The Plan to Bring Mars Down to Earth," 6 Feb. 2020 His career is back on track, for sure, but his reputation might be sullied for other reasons. — Washington Post, "‘Simplicity is genius’: Joshua boxes smart to reclaim titles," 8 Dec. 2019 His career is back on track, for sure, but his reputation might be sullied for other reasons. — Steve Douglas, The Denver Post, "“Simplicity is genius”: Anthony Joshua boxes smart to reclaim titles from Andy Ruiz Jr.," 8 Dec. 2019

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.

See More

First Known Use of sully

Verb

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Noun

1601, in the meaning defined above

History and Etymology for sully

Verb

Middle English *sullien, probably alteration (influenced by Anglo-French suillier, soiller to soil) of sulen to soil, from Old English sylian

Keep scrolling for more

Learn More about sully

Time Traveler for sully

Time Traveler

The first known use of sully was in the 15th century

See more words from the same century

Listen to Our Podcast about sully

Theme music by Joshua Stamper ©2006 New Jerusalem Music/ASCAP

Statistics for sully

Last Updated

9 Jun 2020

Cite this Entry

“Sully.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sully. Accessed 4 Jul. 2020.

Keep scrolling for more

More Definitions for sully

sully

verb
How to pronounce Sully (audio)

English Language Learners Definition of sully

formal : to damage or ruin the good quality of (something)

See the full definition for sully in the English Language Learners Dictionary

Keep scrolling for more

More from Merriam-Webster on sully

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for sully

Rhyming Dictionary: Words that rhyme with sully

Spanish Central: Translation of sully

Nglish: Translation of sully for Spanish Speakers

Comments on sully

What made you want to look up sully? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

Show Comments  Hide Comments 

WORD OF THE DAY

aphelion

Listen to the pronunciation of aphelion

See Definitions and Examples »

Get Word of the Day daily email!

Test Your Vocabulary

A More Exception(al) Quiz

  • hot dog hot dog hot dog hot dog cat
  • Which of the following words is not a synonym for ‘a young person’?
Spell It

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?

TAKE THE QUIZ
Bee Cubed

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.

TAKE THE QUIZ
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Words at Play
Ask the Editors
Word Games