Meaning

(transitive) To soil or stain; to dirty..

Definitions by Sense

1. (transitive) To soil or stain; to dirty.
2. (transitive) To corrupt or damage.
3. (intransitive, ergative) To become soiled or tarnished.
4. (rare, obsolete) A blemish.

Example Sentences

He did not wish to sully his hands with gardening.

THoſe Ills your Anceſtors have done, / Romans, are now become your own ; / And they will coſt you dear, / Unleſs you ſoon repair / The falling Temples which the Gods provoke, / And Statues ſully’d yet with Sacrilegious Smoke.

His nether garment was of yellow nankeen, closely fitted to the shape, and tied at his bunches of knees by large knots of white ribbon, a good deal sullied by use.

She tried to sully her rival’s reputation with a suggestive comment.

Ken Starr would later conclude that it was a mistake for him to expand into the Monica Lewinsky matter, largely because of the disastrous impact it would have on his Whitewater/Madison investigation and in sullying his otherwise sterling professional reputation.

As a child, Jane [Eyre] is completely bereft of love, living a loveless existence, which sullies her character. Her emotions are raw and, on the surface, completely out of control.

[G]old bears the fire, which ſilver doth not: but that is an excellency in nature, but it is nothing at all in uſe; for any dignity in uſe I know none, but that ſilvering will ſully and canker more than gilding; […]

You laying these ſlight ſallies on my ſonne, / As t'were a thing a little ſoyld with working, […]

Word Forms

• sullies
• sullying
• sullied
• sullow

Synonyms for sully

Related Words

When Should You Use Sully?

Use sully when its meaning, tone and grammar fit the full sentence. A synonym is not always a direct replacement.

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