sully
To soil or stain; to dirtyTo soil or stain; to dirty.
» I wouldn't want to sully your good name.
Я бы не захотел пятнать твоё доброе имя.
Meaning
3 senses(transitive)To soil or stain; to dirty.
He did not wish to sully his hands with gardening.
besudeln, schmutzig machen
па́чкатьpáčkatʹ, мара́тьmarátʹ
бруднитиbrudnyty
(transitive)To corrupt or damage.
She tried to sully her rival’s reputation with a suggestive comment.
besudeln
пятнатьpjatnatʹ
плямуватиpljamuvaty
(ergative, intransitive)To become soiled or tarnished.
- place under suspicion or cast doubt upon
- make dirty or spotty, as by exposure to air; also used metaphorically
- charge falsely or with malicious intent; attack the good name and reputation of someone
Examples
2 sentencesI wouldn't want to sully your good name.
ruЯ бы не захотел пятнать твоё доброе имя.
Our reputation will be sullied.
deUnser guter Ruf wird Schaden leiden.
Translations
7 languagesBy meaning 2
By meaning 2
By meaning 1
Origin
From Middle English sulen, sulien (“to become dirty; to defile, pollute, taint”), from OldFrom Middle English sulen, sulien (“to become dirty; to defile, pollute, taint”), from Old English sylian (“to soil, pollute; to sully”), from Proto-West Germanic *sulwōn, *sulwijan (“to make dirty; to sully”), from Proto-Indo-European *sūl- (“thick liquid, muck”), perhaps conflated partially with Old French souillier (“to soil”) (modern French souiller) from the same Germanic source. The word is cognate with Danish søle (“to sully”), West Flemish seulewen (“to sully”) (Middle Dutch soluwen (“to sully”)), German sühlen (“to sully”), Old Saxon sulian (“to sully”), Swedish söla (“to sully”). Also compare Middle English sulpen (“to defile, pollute”), Old English solian (“to soil, become defiled, make or become foul”), and see more at soil.
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Forms
sullies, sullying, sullied, sulliedSynonyms
107 synonyms- place under suspicion or cast doubt upon:defilecorrupttaintcloud
- make dirty or spotty, as by exposure to air; also used metaphorically:tarnishstainmaculatedefile
- charge falsely or with malicious intent; attack the good name and reputation of someone:defameslandersmirchaspersedenigratecalumniatesmearbesmirch
Word family
5 related wordsLessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, regular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Present perfect: introduction — Because of its past participle