as in to stain
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 sully
Revelations in 2020 that Boohoo’s Leicester contractors were subjecting their workers to exploitative pay and unsafe conditions certainly sullied the Midlands city’s reputation.
—
Jasmin Malik Chua, Sourcing Journal, 6 Feb. 2026
Those campaigns were seemingly effective; crowds in South Beach last March were much smaller than in the past, when multiple spring break periods had been sullied by shootings, stampedes and curfews.
—Aaron Leibowitz, Miami Herald, 5 Feb. 2026
The publicity emails sent from Amazon regarding the movie have no individual names or email addresses attached, as though no one wanted their career or personal brand sullied by association.
—Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic, 30 Jan. 2026
The scale of the fraud in Minnesota dwarfs the roughly $100 million welfare scandal that rocked Mississippi from 2016 to 2019, embroiling former NFL quarterback Brett Favre in a civil lawsuit and sullying the state’s reputation for oversight.
—The Denver Post Editorial Board, Denver Post, 20 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for sully
Jasmin Malik Chua, Sourcing Journal, 6 Feb. 2026
Those campaigns were seemingly effective; crowds in South Beach last March were much smaller than in the past, when multiple spring break periods had been sullied by shootings, stampedes and curfews.
—Aaron Leibowitz, Miami Herald, 5 Feb. 2026
The publicity emails sent from Amazon regarding the movie have no individual names or email addresses attached, as though no one wanted their career or personal brand sullied by association.
—Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic, 30 Jan. 2026
The scale of the fraud in Minnesota dwarfs the roughly $100 million welfare scandal that rocked Mississippi from 2016 to 2019, embroiling former NFL quarterback Brett Favre in a civil lawsuit and sullying the state’s reputation for oversight.
—The Denver Post Editorial Board, Denver Post, 20 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for sully
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sully
Verb
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The most popular American sport, long recession-proof, forever immune to greed’s side effects, is prepared to stain its legacy.—
Troy Renck,
Denver Post,
30 Mar. 2026
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The fossils become smooth, rounded and mineral-stained from their time underwater, a process that also complicates efforts to date them precisely.—
Hanna Wickes,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
29 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Grace, her white lace dress blackened with blood, is smoking a cigarette outside of an incinerated mansion that belongs to her in-laws, the Le Domas, who are all dead.—
Amy Nicholson,
Los Angeles Times,
19 Mar. 2026
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The Israeli strikes on oil facilities sparked massive pillars of fire and blackened the skies above Tehran.—
NPR Staff,
NPR,
11 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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Imagine having the gall to besmirch the name of a young mother killed for trying to speak up for her neighbors or of an ICU nurse shot in the back for trying to tend to a woman who had been pepper-sprayed in the face.—
Sasha Abramsky,
Washington Post,
2 Feb. 2026
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The lack of awards buzz shouldn’t besmirch Amanda Seyfried’s performance here, though, which is great.—
Savannah Salazar,
Vulture,
23 Jan. 2026
Verb
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That’s a fate that befouls most of the heroic cast, who are underserved by a tepid script that can’t bother to locate and carry through coherent character arcs that would give this adventure real emotional weight.—
Wilson Chapman,
IndieWire,
31 Mar. 2026
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Los Angeles, that magical realm of shimmering natural beauty, was befouled by smog — maybe forever.—
Patt Morrison,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Sully.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sully. Accessed 3 Apr. 2026.
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