as in blackens
to make dirty
people that sully our state parks with their trash a once-gleaming marble interior sullied by decades of exposure to cigarette smoke
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Recent Examples of sullies
For all the ways Disney’s move sullies it with creatives in Hollywood, OpenAI’s new partner does the opposite — gives it massive cred in Silicon Valley.
—
Steven Zeitchik, HollywoodReporter, 12 Dec. 2025
Steven Zeitchik, HollywoodReporter, 12 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sullies
Verb
-
This mixture attacks stains a bit stronger than the water solution.—
Daley Quinn,
Southern Living,
11 Jan. 2026
-
Season with salt and lots of pepper and bring to a simmer over medium heat, whisking often, until the turmeric stains the mixture a wonderful golden color and the liquid starts to steam, about 3 minutes.—
The New York Times News Service Syndicate,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
26 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
The adventurous actress dirties up her frock and face to play the village pariah, who reeks of fish and would be no man’s idea of a suitable wife, except perhaps the one-eyed bum who sleeps in the town square.—
Peter Debruge,
Variety,
26 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
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
Verb
-
Online, some drew parallels between the heartwrenching moment, which muddies up notions of consent, to an earlier scene in the series, where Carol reveals her mother sent her to conversion therapy camp.—
Natalie Oganesyan,
Deadline,
25 Jan. 2026
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The neighbor who gave you the warning was vague in a way that perhaps suggests discretion, but in reality, only muddies the waters.—
Eric Thomas,
Baltimore Sun,
16 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Each has a meltdown worthy of a telenovela, messes with the crime scene and hours later the police are called.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
20 Jan. 2026
-
In Lost Lambs, the internet sabotages a family in much the same way that Napoleon messes things up for the Bezukhovs in Tolstoy’s War and Peace.—
Gideon Leek,
The Atlantic,
13 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Sullies.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sullies. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.
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