Definition

1. Verb:
   • To damage or tarnish the purity, integrity, or reputation of someone or something: This is the primary meaning, referring to making something morally or physically unclean, often in a metaphorical sense.
   • To make dirty or stained: A more literal meaning, though less common, referring to physically soiling something.

Usage

• Sully is a transitive verb, meaning it requires a direct object (e.g., sully a reputation, sully a name).
• It is often used in formal or literary contexts to describe the act of tarnishing honor, innocence, or a previously clean record.
• The object is typically an abstract concept like a reputation, image, honor, or memory.

Examples

• Verb:
  • The scandal threatened to sully the company's century-old reputation for integrity.
  • He did not want to sully the happy memory of their vacation with an argument.
  • The politician accused the media of trying to sully his good name with baseless allegations.

Advanced Usage

• "to sully oneself": to compromise one's own morals or purity.
  • The idealistic lawyer refused to sully herself by using underhanded tactics.
• Often used in the passive voice to emphasize the effect on the thing being tarnished.
  • Her legacy was forever sullied by the accusations.

Variants and Related Words

• Sullied (adj): Describing something that has been tarnished or dirtied.
  • He tried to restore his sullied reputation.
• Unsullied (adj): Pure, not tarnished or spoiled.
  • She maintained an unsullied record of public service.

Synonyms

• Tarnish: To dull the luster of; to detract from the quality of.
• Defile: To make unclean or impure, especially in a moral sense.
• Besmirch: To damage the reputation of someone or something in the opinion of others.
• Stain: To bring disgrace or dishonor upon; to spot or soil.

Antonyms

• Purify: To make pure; to cleanse.
• Honor: To regard or treat with honor or respect.
• Cleanse: To make clean.

Related Idioms and Phrases

• "Sully one's hands": To become involved in something dishonest or morally questionable.
  • He refused to sully his hands with the corrupt dealings of the industry.

Noun

1. French statesman (1560-1641)
2. United States painter (born in England) of portraits and historical scenes (1783-1872)

Verb

1. charge falsely or with malicious intent; attack the good name and reputation of someone
   • The journalists have defamed me! The article in the paper sullied my reputation
2. make dirty or spotty, as by exposure to air; also used metaphorically
   • The silver was tarnished by the long exposure to the air
   • Her reputation was sullied after the affair with a married man
3. place under suspicion or cast doubt upon
   • sully someone's reputation