[suhl-ee] 
verb, -lied, -ly⋅ing, noun, plural -lies.| 1. | to soil, stain, or tarnish. |
| 2. | to mar the purity or luster of; defile: to sully a reputation. |
| 3. | to become sullied, soiled, or tarnished. |
| 4. | Obsolete. a stain; soil. |
[suhl-ee; for 1 also Fr. sy-lee] | 1. | Ma⋅xi⋅mi⋅lien de Bé⋅thune [mak-see-mee-lyan duh bey-tyn] , Duc de, 1560–1641, French statesman. |
| 2. | Thomas, 1783–1872, U.S. painter, born in England. |
| sul·ly (sŭl'ē) tr.v. sul·lied, sul·ly·ing, sul·lies
Something that stains or spots. [Probably from French souiller, from Old French; see soil2.] |
| Sul·ly (sŭl'ē, sōō-lē', sü-) French politician. As chief minister to Henry IV, he replenished the treasury and encouraged agriculture and industry. |
| Sul·ly (sŭl'ē) British-born American painter of portraits and historical scenes, such as Washington's Passage of the Delaware (c. 1818). |
