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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of sully
For our first century, the American sense of exceptionalism justified not being sullied by others, not being tied down by alliances, and not having our freedom of action limited.
—
TIME, 25 Feb. 2025
After opening the game by driving Baltimore 73 yards for a score, culminating in his 16-yard touchdown pass to Rashod Bateman, Jackson sullied his second possession by sailing a ball over Bateman’s head that was picked off by Bills safety Taylor Rapp.
—Michael Silver, The Athletic, 20 Jan. 2025
That the prestige of the office is sullied by his grasp for profits.
—Eric Heavner, Baltimore Sun, 18 Jan. 2025
Starbucks works hard to keep its coffee aroma from being sullied by food and other smells in its stores — employees aren’t even allowed to wear fragrances.
—Whizy Kim, Vox, 7 Dec. 2018
See All Example Sentences for sully
TIME, 25 Feb. 2025
After opening the game by driving Baltimore 73 yards for a score, culminating in his 16-yard touchdown pass to Rashod Bateman, Jackson sullied his second possession by sailing a ball over Bateman’s head that was picked off by Bills safety Taylor Rapp.
—Michael Silver, The Athletic, 20 Jan. 2025
That the prestige of the office is sullied by his grasp for profits.
—Eric Heavner, Baltimore Sun, 18 Jan. 2025
Starbucks works hard to keep its coffee aroma from being sullied by food and other smells in its stores — employees aren’t even allowed to wear fragrances.
—Whizy Kim, Vox, 7 Dec. 2018
See All Example Sentences for sully
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sully
Verb
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If Bonhoeffer’s example is used to justify more far-right Christian violence in America, that would be another tragedy — and a cruel irony that would stain the legacy of a man who gave up everything to confront a tyrant.—
John Blake,
CNN Money,
13 Apr. 2025
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Pérez's manager, Enrique Paulino, spoke to reporters at the scene, his shirt stained with blood.—
Gordon G. Chang,
MSNBC Newsweek,
8 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Unlike a total solar eclipse, when the disk of the sun is completely blackened, an eclipsed moon does not vanish completely from the sky.—
Jeffrey Kluger,
TIME,
11 Mar. 2025
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But the negro resents and utterly repudiates the effort to blacken his good name by asserting that assaults upon women are peculiar to his race.—
Liz Tracey,
JSTOR Daily,
21 Feb. 2025
Verb
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For example, a small non-shedding dog that rarely goes outside won't dirty a bed nearly as fast as a large labarador that plays outside daily.—
Halee Miller Van Ryswyk,
Better Homes & Gardens,
7 Apr. 2025
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Grease dirtied the handles of the ovens, the microwave ovens and the coolers.—
David J. Neal,
Miami Herald,
14 Feb. 2025
Verb
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Their reputations were besmirched.—
The Editors,
National Review,
17 Dec. 2024
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Images illustrating the reality versus carefully edited Instagram selfies have somewhat besmirched Santorini’s romantic reputation of late.—
Helen Iatrou,
AFAR Media,
16 Dec. 2024
Verb
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The natural world may be past saving, particularly as a habitat for the species that has so utterly befouled it, and, yet, what else is there to do but keep on keeping on?—
Nick Paumgarten,
The New Yorker,
19 Feb. 2025
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Capitalism is degrading us, killing us and befouling our world.—
Philip Kennicott,
Washington Post,
8 June 2023
Cite this Entry
“Sully.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sully. Accessed 22 Apr. 2025.
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