sully Hear it!

sully Definition

sully (sulē)

transitive verb sullied -·lied, sullying -·ly·ing

to soil, stain, tarnish, or besmirch, now esp. by disgracing

Etymology: prob. < Fr souiller < OFr soillier: see soil

intransitive verb

Obsolete to become sullied

noun pl. sullies -·lies

Archaic a stain or tarnish; defilement
Sully Definition

Sully (sulē; also, for 1, Fr sü lē)

  1. Sully, Duc de (Maximilien de Béthune) 1560-1641; Fr. statesman
  2. Sully, Thomas 1783-1872; U.S. painter, born in England
sully Synonyms

sully

v.

  1. To soil

    blot, stain, spot; see dirty.

  2. To defame

    shame, debase, denounce; see disgrace.

sully Usage Examples

Object

  • memory: Perhaps that might be better, and not sully the memory.
  • page: Dave is very grateful to be able to sully the pages of The Panhandle with his collections of doodles and weak gags.

Modifying Another Word

  • n't: Do n't sully your good work on them by comparing them to this irrelevant twaddle.
  • not: The terms in which it is drawn up do not sully God's holiness by suffering sin to abound in His own.
  • never: A. I would never sully my house with it.

Browse dictionary entries near sully

  1. Sullivan, Scott
  2. Sullivan
  3. sullies
  4. sullied
  5. sullenness
  6. sullenly
  7. sullen
  8. sullage
  9. Sulla
  10. sulky
  1. Sully-Prudhomme
  2. sullying
  3. sulph-
  4. sulphur
  5. sultan
  6. sultana
  7. sultanate
  8. sultaness
  9. sultrier
  10. sultriest