sullying
present participle ofsully
sully
verb[T]
formaluk/ˈsʌl.i/us/ˈsʌl.i/tospoilsomething that ispureor someone'sperfectreputation:
Hisreputation, he said, had beenunfairlysullied by half-truths andinnuendos.
to make somethingdirty:
Nospeckofdirthadeversullied hishands.
Damaging reputation
- anti-defamation
- aspersion
- besmirch
- black mark
- blacken
- blot
- demonize
- dog
- dragsomeone'sname through the mire/mudidiom
- give a dog a bad nameidiom
- hurl/throw/sling mud atsomeoneidiom
- self-immolation
- show someone in a bad lightidiom
- slander
- slanderer
- slanderous
- slur
- smear
- stab
- stain
You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
Making things dirty & untidy
Examplesofsullying
sullying
In English, many past and present participles of verbs can be used as adjectives. Some of these examples may show the adjective use.
Who issullyingwhat fountain and what justice?
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under theOpen Parliament Licence v3.0
We thought that that wassullyingthe clear stream of authority and that it was positively calculated to mislead.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under theOpen Parliament Licence v3.0
He rather spoiled the beginning of the debate,sullyingit with a bit of party politics.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under theOpen Parliament Licence v3.0
Here was he, a riverbed beggar, an outcast, barely human, daring to think ofsullyingthe purity of parliament with his presence.
From
This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.
Wikipedia
This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.She is fined 1 in court, but she is mainly worried about the local newspaper carrying the story andsullyingher reputation.
FromThis example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.
Wikipedia
This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.Tzeentch is not abovesullyinghis hands with the blood of war, though he much prefers to gain victory through guile, cunning and schemes rather than brute force.
FromThis example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.
Wikipedia
This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.
- misguided
- misguided attempt
- misguidedly
- misguided policy
- mishandle
- mishandled
- mishandling
- mishap
- mishear
- mishit
- mishmash
- misidentification
- misidentify
- misinform
- misinformation
- misinformed
- misinforming
- misinterpret
- misinterpretation
- misinterpreted
- misinterpreting
- misjudge
- misjudged
- misjudging
- misjudgment