sully

verb

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sul·ly | \ ˈsə-lē

sullied; sullying

Definition of sully

(Entry 1 of 2)

transitive verb

: to make soiled or tarnished : defile

sully

noun

plural sullies

Definition of sully (Entry 2 of 2)

archaic

: soil, stain

Synonyms & Antonyms Did you know? Example Sentences Learn More About sully

Synonyms & Antonyms for sully

Synonyms: Verb

Antonyms: Verb

Examples of sully in a Sentence

Verb people that sully our state parks with their trash a once-gleaming marble interior sullied by decades of exposure to cigarette smoke

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb Overcoming a concerted effort by Republicans to sully her record and derail her nomination, Judge Jackson was confirmed on a 53-to-47 vote, with three Republicans joining all 50 members of the Democratic caucus in backing her. — New York Times, 7 Apr. 2022 Palin, in her testimony, accused The Times of deliberately fabricating lies to sully her reputation. — Aaron Katersky, ABC News, 14 Feb. 2022 Palin, in her testimony, accused The Times of deliberately fabricating information to sully her reputation. — Bill Hutchinson, ABC News, 15 Feb. 2022 Seriously, if King wants to sully the reputation of New York with his ridiculous antics, fine. — Los Angeles Times, 3 Feb. 2022 Anyway, what would be the point of selling people on a safe space just to sully it with dangers? — Alex Shephard, The New Republic, 8 Nov. 2021 On March 16th, Josh Vlasto, a longtime adviser to Cuomo, wrote in a group text that Cohen had approached him about the effort to sully Kim. — Ronan Farrow, The New Yorker, 10 Aug. 2021 Unplanned bathroom breaks can sully a pleasant hike. — Siena Giljum, Los Angeles Times, 12 July 2021 Plus, if Susie allows even a speck of her outrage to sully her son’s relationship with his dad, then her offense would be worse than your hitting on Debbie. — Washington Post, 29 June 2020 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'sully.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.