as in to stain
to make dirty
inconsiderately besmirched the carpet with their dirty feet
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Recent Examples of besmirch
With her buzz cut and Bikini Kill T-shirt, Brie Larson’s Elektra is presented as a rebel, a provocateur, and the kind of obsessively angry soul who might well carry her microphone around town in order to besmirch her mother and berate the world.
—
David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 6 Feb. 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
There’s a new promo picture going around showing a Dusty Milligan with facial hair (see: above) — and listen, not to besmirch his infinity-pool jawline, but the dude looks so much better with that scruff.
—Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 8 Nov. 2024
The Jefferson Council, a conservative alumni group, had been calling for an end or change to the tour program, insisting that volunteers had been wrongly besmirching the legacy of UVA's founder.
—David K. Li, NBC News, 30 Aug. 2024
See All Example Sentences for besmirch
David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 6 Feb. 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
There’s a new promo picture going around showing a Dusty Milligan with facial hair (see: above) — and listen, not to besmirch his infinity-pool jawline, but the dude looks so much better with that scruff.
—Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 8 Nov. 2024
The Jefferson Council, a conservative alumni group, had been calling for an end or change to the tour program, insisting that volunteers had been wrongly besmirching the legacy of UVA's founder.
—David K. Li, NBC News, 30 Aug. 2024
See All Example Sentences for besmirch
Recent Examples of Synonyms for besmirch
Verb
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But with Victoria’s Secret, Super inherited a beleaguered brand stained by upheaval and scandal.—
Alicia Adamczyk,
Fortune,
28 June 2025
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White signaled cleanliness, leisure and a house filled with staff who could get those pesky grass stains out.—
Brett F. Braley-Palko,
Forbes.com,
26 June 2025
Verb
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The site was visibly blackened by the degree of rubble thrown up by the strikes.—
CNN.com Wire Service,
Mercury News,
23 June 2025
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Broil the bell pepper for 4 to 6 minutes, until the skin starts to blacken.—
Alana Al-Hatlani,
Southern Living,
9 May 2025
Verb
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And for nights when you can't be bothered to dirty a million dishes just to get dinner on the table, there's an air fryer from Ninja.—
Sarah Felbin,
SELF,
23 May 2025
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Crème Brûlée Steve Granitz Crème brûlée is like butter blonde, but dirtied up a bit for a browned, warm tint.—
Audrey Noble,
Vogue,
2 May 2025
Verb
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All of that sullied what was an excellent outing to that point.—
Daniel Nugent-Bowman,
New York Times,
21 May 2025
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Suddenly, trustees needed to concern themselves with not only the size of a donor’s check but also whether the signature on it would end up sullying the institution’s name. Enter a new class of due-diligence companies.—
Mary Holland,
Robb Report,
1 Dec. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Besmirch.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/besmirch. Accessed 11 Jul. 2025.
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