as in to stain
to make dirty
inconsiderately besmirched the carpet with their dirty feet
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Recent Examples of besmirch
The eggs were fluffy, lacking any of the rubbery slop that besmirches lesser breakfast burritos.
—
Carolyn Burt, Oc Register, 1 Dec. 2025
This cynicism inevitably besmirches players, coaches, and referees who have no ties to gambling.
—Danny Funt, New Yorker, 28 Oct. 2025
Famously, the British press conspired to draw the dramatist’s name through the mud, besmirching his literary legacy for generations to follow.
—Brittany Allen, Literary Hub, 20 Oct. 2025
Trump has focused on tourist-friendly areas being besmirched by crime.
—Niall Stanage, The Hill, 11 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for besmirch
Carolyn Burt, Oc Register, 1 Dec. 2025
This cynicism inevitably besmirches players, coaches, and referees who have no ties to gambling.
—Danny Funt, New Yorker, 28 Oct. 2025
Famously, the British press conspired to draw the dramatist’s name through the mud, besmirching his literary legacy for generations to follow.
—Brittany Allen, Literary Hub, 20 Oct. 2025
Trump has focused on tourist-friendly areas being besmirched by crime.
—Niall Stanage, The Hill, 11 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for besmirch
Recent Examples of Synonyms for besmirch
Verb
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It’s been dried, stripped of bark, sanded to silky smoothness, stained, sealed and painstakingly carved.—
Kathy Gurchiek,
AJC.com,
10 Mar. 2026
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While standard cast iron typically requires seasoning to both preserve and maintain its quality and help prevent food from sticking, this cast iron is equipped with a black matte satin interior enamel coating that’s made to resist cracking, chipping, and staining.—
Alicia Geigel,
Southern Living,
10 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The Sepulveda Basin has seen numerous brush fires in recent years, with the most being the Burbank fire in August 2024, which blackened 75 acres of almost entirely invasive, nonnative plants.—
Daily News,
Daily News,
7 Mar. 2026
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Contrast ratio is defined as the brightness difference between the brightest white tones and the darkest blacks, so this implies that the Studio Display XDR can turn off (fully blacken) the pixels within dimming zones.—
Tony Hoffman,
PC Magazine,
5 Mar. 2026
Verb
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But as filming continued, Pidgeon appeared to dirty her butter blond with caramel and chocolate shades similar to Bessette-Kennedy’s, thanks to stylist Kari Hill.—
Kaleigh Werner,
Footwear News,
25 Feb. 2026
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With the help of your Instant Pot, spaghetti and meatballs come together in under an hour without dirtying multiple dishes.—
Jenna Sims,
Southern Living,
24 Feb. 2026
Verb
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But a battlefield promotion to Ayatollah was arranged, blending faith with politics in an exercise that critics said sullied both even before Khamenei reinforced his position by earthly means, elevating the IRGC.—
Karl Vick,
Time,
28 Feb. 2026
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Social media was full of people accusing Canada of sullying the great sport and sportsmanship of curling.—
Dana O’Neil,
CNN Money,
14 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Besmirch.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/besmirch. Accessed 12 Mar. 2026.
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