sully

/ˈsʌli/

/ˈsʌli/

Other forms: sullied; sullying; sullies

To sully is to attack someone's good name and to try to ruin his reputation. If you spread false rumors that there's chicken stock in the vegetarian entree at Joe's Diner, you would sully Joe's good reputation.

Sully can also mean to tarnish or make spotty. It's easy to remember this meaning when you know that sully comes from the Middle French word souiller, meaning, "make dirty." For example, dripping chocolate sauce onto the table will sully your mother's new white tablecloth. Another meaning of sully is to corrupt or cast suspicion on. If an automaker recalls millions of vehicles due to safety problems, it doesn't exactly inspire confidence — in fact, it may sully their brand.

Definitions of sully

1. verb

   make dirty or spotty, as by exposure to air; also used metaphorically
   synonyms: defile, maculate, stain, tarnish

   types:

   darken

   tarnish or stain

   type of:

   blob, blot, fleck, spot

   make a spot or mark onto
2. verb

   place under suspicion or cast doubt upon
   “sully someone's reputation”

   synonyms: cloud, corrupt, defile, pollute, taint, tarnish

   type of:

   deflower, impair, mar, spoil, vitiate

   make imperfect
3. verb

   charge falsely or with malicious intent; attack the good name and reputation of someone
   synonyms: asperse, besmirch, calumniate, defame, denigrate, slander, smear, smirch

   types:

   assassinate

   destroy or damage seriously, as of someone's reputation

   libel

   print slanderous statements against

   badmouth, drag through the mud, malign, traduce

   speak unfavorably about

   type of:

   accuse, charge

   blame for, make a claim of wrongdoing or misbehavior against