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
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Examples Sentences
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Recent Examples of sully
Here, his white knight’s armor is sullied before his face is scarred, and how that fits this version of Gotham City makes for a fitting rallying cry all its own.
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Ben Travers, IndieWire, 1 Aug. 2024
Oh the incorruptible queen sullies herself with a lover.
—Eliana Dockterman, TIME, 5 Aug. 2024
When given the chance to restore their minds to their original bodies, Stark in Doom’s body refuses, saying he’s made the name Doom mean something good, while the name Stark has been sullied.
—Richard Newby, The Hollywood Reporter, 1 Aug. 2024
Had discussing diarrhoea and constipation over dinner sullied the intrigue and mystery of eroticism?
—Jess Commons, refinery29.com, 4 Feb. 2024
See all Example Sentences for sully 
Ben Travers, IndieWire, 1 Aug. 2024
Oh the incorruptible queen sullies herself with a lover.
—Eliana Dockterman, TIME, 5 Aug. 2024
When given the chance to restore their minds to their original bodies, Stark in Doom’s body refuses, saying he’s made the name Doom mean something good, while the name Stark has been sullied.
—Richard Newby, The Hollywood Reporter, 1 Aug. 2024
Had discussing diarrhoea and constipation over dinner sullied the intrigue and mystery of eroticism?
—Jess Commons, refinery29.com, 4 Feb. 2024
See all Example Sentences for sully
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sully
Verb
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Sometimes, traffickers stain ivory to look like wood or coat it in chocolate to make it through inspections.Ashley Strickland, CNN, 2 Nov. 2024
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A number of the belongings appeared to be stained with blood.Tim Madigan, Smithsonian Magazine, 22 Oct. 2024
Verb
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Characters like Felix and Oswald have kind of an unfortunate connection to theater insofar as they’re associated with blackface minstrelsy—the notoriously racist form of stage performance where actors would blacken their faces, wear white gloves, and perform clownish antics.Tim Brinkhof, JSTOR Daily, 9 Oct. 2024
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Eventually, Dad needed to referee, settling disputes and trying to end things before noses were bloodied and eyes were blackened.Chad Graff, The Athletic, 12 Aug. 2024
Verb
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Instead, Walz seems to have little to say about factory farming dirtying the state’s waterways.Kenny Torrella, Vox, 7 Dec. 2018
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Garments can be dirtied again by the elements if air-dried outside.Mary Cornetta, Better Homes & Gardens, 23 July 2024
Verb
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There’s a new promo picture going around showing a Dusty Milligan with facial hair (see: above) — and listen, not to besmirch his infinity-pool jawline, but the dude looks so much better with that scruff.Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 8 Nov. 2024
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The Jefferson Council, a conservative alumni group, had been calling for an end or change to the tour program, insisting that volunteers had been wrongly besmirching the legacy of UVA's founder.David K. Li, NBC News, 30 Aug. 2024
Verb
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Capitalism is degrading us, killing us and befouling our world.Philip Kennicott, Washington Post, 8 June 2023
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At a 2019 commencement address, Mr. Adams told a story about intimidating a neighbor whose dog was befouling his yard.Emma G. Fitzsimmons, New York Times, 1 June 2023
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Cite this Entry
“Sully.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sully. Accessed 28 Nov. 2024.
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