sully

C2+ Topic:Actions & Processes

US /ˈsʌli/ UK /ˈsʌli/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

verb
to damage or tarnish the purity or reputation of something

He refused to sully his good name by accepting the bribe.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to damage or tarnish the... tarnish besmirch defile taint blemish stain soil disgrace

Opposites

cleanse purify honor

Word family

Derived forms sulliedsullying

Related forms soil

Etymology

Probably from Middle French souiller ('to soil, dirty'), from Old French soillier, ultimately related to Latin suculus ('little pig') or to Vulgar Latin *suliare; influenced by Old English sylian ('to defile').

souiller Middle French soillier Old French

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Actions & Processes Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# sully

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** /ˈsʌli/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈsʌli/

## Meanings
1. to damage or tarnish the purity or reputation of something

## Examples
- He refused to sully his good name by accepting the bribe.

## Synonyms
- tarnish
- besmirch
- defile
- taint
- blemish
- stain
- soil
- disgrace

## Antonyms
- cleanse
- purify
- honor

## Derived Forms
- sullied
- sullying

## Related Forms
- soil

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: souiller
- Root: soillier

## Etymology
Probably from Middle French souiller ('to soil, dirty'), from Old French soillier, ultimately related to Latin suculus ('little pig') or to Vulgar Latin *suliare; influenced by Old English sylian ('to defile').

## AI Etymology
Sully has this etymological development: Probably from Middle French souiller ('to soil, dirty'), from Old French soillier, ultimately related to Latin suculus ('little pig') or to Vulgar Latin *suliare; influenced by Old English sylian ('to defile'). Important recorded forms include souiller (Middle French) and soillier (Old French). Morphologically, the -ly ending turns the base adjective or participial form into an adverbial manner word, or preserves an older adjectival pattern where the part of speech allows it. The wording preserves that uncertainty: the older history is best read as a cautious account rather than a fully settled chain. The modern sense continues the older lexical line without requiring a separate origin. In current use it covers to damage or tarnish the purity or reputation of something. The wider family includes derived forms such as sullied and sullying and related words such as soil.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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