sully
to soil, stain, or tarnish.
to mar the purity or luster of; defile: to sully a reputation.
to become sullied, soiled, or tarnished.
Obsolete. a stain; soil.
Origin of sully
1Other words for sully
Other words from sully
- sul·li·a·ble, adjective
- un·sul·li·a·ble, adjective
Words Nearby sully
Other definitions for Sully (2 of 2)
Ma·xi·mi·lien de Bé·thune [mak-see-mee-lyanduhbey-tyn], /mak si miˈlyɛ̃ də beɪˈtün/, Duc de, 1560–1641, French statesman.
Thomas, 1783–1872, U.S. painter, born in England.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use sully in a sentence
I begin to observe that it sounds as if sully is in microcosm what Newman himself…but that is as far as I get.
The Stacks: The Eyes of Winter: Paul Newman at 70 | Peter Richmond | October 11, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTIn giving sully a life, he gave the character some of his own life.
The Stacks: The Eyes of Winter: Paul Newman at 70 | Peter Richmond | October 11, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTsully decides to face the truth of what his negligence has sown.
The Stacks: The Eyes of Winter: Paul Newman at 70 | Peter Richmond | October 11, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTBut he was also showing a gritty and sully city in a beautiful way.
The sully people catalogue a variety of reactions to today's job numbers.
It's a 'Could Be Worse' Economy, and We're Living in It | Justin Green | December 7, 2012 | THE DAILY BEAST
All day long I sully sheet after sheet of paper and beguile the tedious hours with the half-faded recollections of my childhood.
Marguerite | Anatole FranceHe sent sully over to cement the good understanding of the two States by arguments and gifts to the leading courtiers.
Sir Walter Ralegh | William Stebbingsully was represented at the Philadelphia Academy by one hundred and sixteen pictures.
Revolutionary Reader | Sophie Lee FosterNo pains were spared to sully his character, to ruin his fortunes, and to render him an object of public indignation.
The Chronicles of Crime or The New Newgate Calendar. v. 1/2 | Camden PelhamThere are, nevertheless, three or four female heads, of an ethereal beauty-portraits in the manner of sully.
The Works of Edgar Allan Poe | Edgar Allan Poe
British Dictionary definitions for sully (1 of 2)
/ (ˈsʌlɪ) /
to stain or tarnish (a reputation, etc) or (of a reputation) to become stained or tarnished
a stain
the act of sullying
Origin of sully
1Derived forms of sully
- sulliable, adjective
British Dictionary definitions for Sully (2 of 2)
/ (ˈsʌlɪ, French sylli) /
Maximilien de Béthune (maksimiljɛ̃ də betyn), Duc de Sully. 1559–1641, French statesman; minister of Henry IV. He helped restore the finances of France after the Wars of Religion
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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