sully
pronunciation
How to pronounce sully in British English:
UK [ˈsʌli]
How to pronounce sully in American English:
US [ˈsʌli]
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- Verb:
- 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
Word Origin
- sully
- sully: see soil
- sully (v.)
- 1590s, probably from Middle French souiller "to soil," also figurative, from Old French soillier "make dirty" (see soil (v.)). Related: Sullied (1570s); sullying.
Example
- 1. Wasting more words on the issue would only sully bowman 's wordless journey beyond the infinite .
- 2. And anyone who threatens to sully that image by drawing attention to inconvenient truths had better watch out .
- 3. As we know from our eight years of bush smearmongering , when a nation is in danger it is only too easy to sully the reputation of political opponents .
- 4. Those who sully the game should incur stiff penalties-including , if the allegations against them are proven , the latest pakistanis under a cloud .
- 5. Iberdrola is the world 's leading operator of wind turbines , but fenosa relies heavily on coal-fired plants , so a merger would sully iberdrola 's image .