as in to stain
to make dirty
inconsiderately besmirched the carpet with their dirty feet
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of besmirch
Trump has focused on tourist-friendly areas being besmirched by crime.
—
Niall Stanage, The Hill, 11 Aug. 2025
The rules around grand jury secrecy shouldn’t be broken and care must be taken about revealing the identities of victims and besmirching the reputations of people mentioned incidentally in the vast investigative materials.
—The Editors, National Review, 16 July 2025
Images illustrating the reality versus carefully edited Instagram selfies have somewhat besmirched Santorini’s romantic reputation of late.
—Helen Iatrou, AFAR Media, 16 Dec. 2024
Completely besmirched by this new sham of a spot.
—Mike D. Sykes, For The Win, 11 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for besmirch
Niall Stanage, The Hill, 11 Aug. 2025
The rules around grand jury secrecy shouldn’t be broken and care must be taken about revealing the identities of victims and besmirching the reputations of people mentioned incidentally in the vast investigative materials.
—The Editors, National Review, 16 July 2025
Images illustrating the reality versus carefully edited Instagram selfies have somewhat besmirched Santorini’s romantic reputation of late.
—Helen Iatrou, AFAR Media, 16 Dec. 2024
Completely besmirched by this new sham of a spot.
—Mike D. Sykes, For The Win, 11 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for besmirch
Recent Examples of Synonyms for besmirch
Verb
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Scorched and stained pots and pans almost always require scraping and scouring, and cast-iron skillets can rust when soaked.—
Brandee Gruener,
Southern Living,
6 Nov. 2025
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Julia Fox's costume consisted of a pink suit stained with fake blood, meant to resemble the former first lady shortly after the assassination of her husband.—
Lauren Huff,
Entertainment Weekly,
31 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The footage from drone cameras shows a large area of industrial Louisville charred and blackened from smoke and fire damage.—
Jeanine Santucci,
USA Today,
7 Nov. 2025
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Skip any skins that look moldy, blackened, or spoiled.—
Cathy Cassata,
Health,
24 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The ashes from the crematorium chimney covered the streets, sooted the rain, dirtied the snow, damaged the crops, infected every body.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
23 Oct. 2025
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At Dilara Findikoglu, models looked like ladies in waiting that had risen from the dead; wearing antiquated corsetry that was dirtied and torn.—
Leah Dolan,
CNN Money,
23 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The market for voluntary carbon offset and removal credits has been struggling for the last several years to repair a reputation sullied by numerous greenwashing scandals.—
Tim McDonnell,
semafor.com,
11 Nov. 2025
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The exhibition features his maps and sullied backpack, toothbrush, bar of soap, and survival goods, along with photos of him sleeping on park benches, crouching on the banks of the Hudson in front of ice floes, and haunting the city.—
Zachary Fine,
New Yorker,
7 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Besmirch.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/besmirch. Accessed 26 Nov. 2025.
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