sully

verb

ˈsə-lē How to pronounce sully (audio)
Definition of sullynext
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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of sully The film hinges on a small moment that not only sullies the trip but leads her character to reconsider her understanding of her father. — Scott Tobias, Vulture, 17 July 2026 Such shenanigans are more or less expected, and certainly haven’t forever sullied the American soccer fan base, at least here at home. — Jay Caspian Kang, New Yorker, 7 July 2026 Soap invited its viewers to take jabs at the genre in a time when the soap opera’s reputation had already been sullied in the American mind. — Literary Hub, 18 May 2026 He was accused of abusing boys, a charge that went unproven but sullied his reputation in Europe. — Amanda Rosa updated April 28, Miami Herald, 28 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for sully
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sully
  1. stain
  2. blacken
  3. dirty
  4. besmirch
  5. befoul
Verb
  • Bookshelves are crammed with novels and almanacs, the wood boards of the ceilings stained dark in delicious contrast to the clean white walls and creamy linen furnishings.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 6 Oct. 2026
  • The yellow color from the fenbendazole stained his white goatee.
    — Trisha Thadani Kirsten Potter Tanya Pérez Devin Murphy, New York Times, 4 Oct. 2026
Definition of stain
Verb
  • Footage shot later at daybreak showed the house gutted, charred and blackened from the inside out.
    — Zeena Saifi, CNN Money, 29 Sep. 2026
  • Lines at Russian gas stations, crippled refineries, and images of burning oil depots blackening the sky lent credence to the narrative, as did blackouts and fuel shortages in Crimea.
    — Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 26 Sep. 2026
Definition of blacken
Verb
  • To even wade into the arguments might dirty your hands, and mind.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 1 Oct. 2026
  • Satisfy your lasagna craving without dirtying up a pile of dishes.
    — Kimberly Holland, Southern Living, 9 July 2026
Definition of dirty
Verb
  • Our nation’s capital is besmirched, on his say-so, with signs and banners bearing his likeness and name.
    — Letters to the Editor, The Orlando Sentinel, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Troubled by all the people besmirching the occupation, a group of agents formed a national trade group in 1908—the one eventually known as NAR.
    — Michael Waters, The Atlantic, 22 Aug. 2026
Definition of besmirch
Verb
  • That will prevent polluted excess water being sent on estuaries east and west of the lake that have befouled waters with blue-green algae that has led to massive deaths of marine life within the past decade.
    — Jim Turner, Miami Herald, 15 May 2026
  • That’s a fate that befouls most of the heroic cast, who are underserved by a tepid script that can’t bother to locate and carry through coherent character arcs that would give this adventure real emotional weight.
    — Wilson Chapman, IndieWire, 31 Mar. 2026
Definition of befoul

Browse Nearby Words

sullies
sully
sullying
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Cite this Entry

“Sully.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sully. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

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