Word of the Day

: January 5, 2022

sully

verb SUL-ee

What It Means

Sully means "to soil or tarnish."

// The money-related charges brought against the restaurant's owner have sullied her reputation.

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sully in Context

"When she began living next to the beach in Barcelona, New Yorker Elizabeth Sherr was distressed to see all the cigarette butts and litter sullying its golden sand. The 24-year-old began a campaign to pick up the rubbish piece by piece, posting videos on TikTok encouraging others to get involved." — Graham Keeley, i (inews.co.uk), 10 June 2021

Did You Know?

The spelling of sully has shifted several times since it was sylian in Old English, but its meaning has remained essentially the same: "to soil." In case you are wondering whether sullen (meaning "gloomy or morose") is a relative, the answer is "no." Sullen comes from Latin solus, meaning "alone."