besmirched 1 of 2

adjective

as in stained
not clean wiped the toddler's besmirched face with a damp cloth

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

besmirched

2 of 2

verb

past tense of besmirch
as in blackened
to make dirty inconsiderately besmirched the carpet with their dirty feet

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of besmirched
Verb
Bryna Laub, editor of Daytime Serial Newsletter, felt the show besmirched the sanctity of soaps and contributed to the broader currents of shame surrounding the genre. — Literary Hub, 18 May 2026 And thus one of the more wholesome and fun events in the White House calendar was besmirched by a man who simply cannot stop with the zero-sum partisan nonsense even when surrounded by impressionable young faces. — The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 8 Apr. 2026 Trump has focused on tourist-friendly areas being besmirched by crime. — Niall Stanage, The Hill, 11 Aug. 2025 These hardy souls, largely indifferent to political and economic turbulence, were the mainstay of the tourist economy during the civil war that besmirched the lives of an entire generation from the 1980s on. — Chandrahas Choudhury, Condé Nast Traveler, 1 Mar. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for besmirched
  1. stained
  2. blackened
  3. filthy
  4. dirtied
  5. muddy
  6. sullied
  7. dusty
  8. dirty
Adjective
  • Dip a soft, old toothbrush in the soapy solution and scrub the stained area.
    — Mary Marlowe Leverette, The Spruce, 9 Aug. 2026
  • Victorian mansions that survived great storms and eras of change take up whole blocks, colossal buildings with stained glass windows and towering turrets.
    — Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 15 July 2026
Definition of stained
Verb
  • Timber Fire Monterey County’s Timber Fire burning near Big Sur has blackened nearly 2,500 acres since its start Monday afternoon and is 5% contained.
    — Darrell Smith, Sacbee.com, 11 Aug. 2026
  • The old silver and gold shops, their facades blackened by time, were gone.
    — Lina Sergie Attar, Time, 6 Aug. 2026
Definition of blackened
Adjective
  • The game starts with a flashback 30 years ago to a feral, filthy Wolverine who’s living alone in the wilderness.
    — Jordan Moreau, Variety, 13 Aug. 2026
  • Few things at airports irritate customers like filthy toilets or water on the restroom floor.
    — Miami Herald, Miami Herald, 8 Aug. 2026
Definition of filthy
Verb
  • When stormwater dirtied by road runoff, failing septic tanks and fertilizer sullied crystal-clear rivers and lakes, and nobody cared.
    — Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board, The Orlando Sentinel, 11 Jan. 2026
  • Garments can be dirtied again by the elements if air-dried outside.
    — Mary Cornetta, Better Homes & Gardens, 20 Dec. 2025
Definition of dirtied
Adjective
  • The finish should be clean, not muddy, metallic, or aggressively fishy.
    — Felipe Riccio, Robb Report, 15 Aug. 2026
  • Drone footage shared by the city showed houses, vehicles and roads submerged in muddy floodwater.
    — Dalia Faheid, CNN Money, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of muddy
Verb
  • Such shenanigans are more or less expected, and certainly haven’t forever sullied the American soccer fan base, at least here at home.
    — Jay Caspian Kang, New Yorker, 7 July 2026
  • Soap invited its viewers to take jabs at the genre in a time when the soap opera’s reputation had already been sullied in the American mind.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 18 May 2026
Definition of sullied
Adjective
  • Video of the remarkable rescue filmed by Osorio shows the tiny infant in a dusty bodysuit being carefully pulled out of the wreckage.
    — Rocio Munoz, CNN Money, 12 Aug. 2026
  • Others were more barren, with dusty volcanic rocks and jagged cliffs surrounding secluded turquoise coves.
    — Annie Daly, Vogue, 11 Aug. 2026
Definition of dusty
Adjective
  • By the time her wedding day arrived on Saturday, all that was left for Jordyn to do was take it all in—and get her dress dirty at some point along the way.
    — Alexandra Macon, Vogue, 17 Aug. 2026
  • Recently, my dad discovered these non-slip couch covers that protect the upholstery on their couches from dirty paws.
    — Izzy Baskette, PEOPLE, 17 Aug. 2026
Definition of dirty

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Cite this Entry

“Besmirched.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/besmirched. Accessed 21 Aug. 2026.

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Nglish: Translation of besmirched for Spanish Speakers

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