sully

Sul·ly

 (sŭl′ē, so͞o-lē′, sü-), Duc de Title of Maximilien de Béthune. 1560-1641.

French politician. As chief minister to Henry IV, he replenished the treasury and encouraged agriculture and industry.

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sul·ly

 (sŭl′ē)

tr.v. sul·lied, sul·ly·ing, sul·lies

1. To mar the cleanness or luster of; soil or stain.

2. To defile; taint: sully a reputation.

n. pl. sul·lies Archaic

Something that stains or spots.

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[Probably from French souiller, from Old French; see soil².]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

sully

(ˈsʌlɪ)

vb, -lies, -lying or -lied

to stain or tarnish (a reputation, etc) or (of a reputation) to become stained or tarnished

n, pl -lies

1. a stain

2. the act of sullying

[C16: probably from French souiller to soil]

ˈsulliable adj

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Sully

(ˈsʌlɪ; French sylli)

n

(Biography) Maximilien de Béthune (maksimiljɛ̃ də betyn), Duc de Sully. 1559–1641, French statesman; minister of Henry IV. He helped restore the finances of France after the Wars of Religion

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

sul•ly

(ˈsʌl i)

v. -lied, -ly•ing, v.t.

1. to soil, stain, or tarnish.

2. to mar the purity or luster of; defile: to sully a reputation.

v.i.

3. to become sullied, soiled, or tarnished.

n.

4. Obs. a stain; soil.

[1585–95; orig. uncertain]

sul′li•a•ble, adj.

Sul•ly

(ˈsʌl i; for 1 also Fr. süˈli)

n.

1. Maximilien de Béthune, Duc de, 1560–1641, French statesman.

2. Thomas, 1783–1872, U.S. painter, born in England.

Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

sully

Past participle: sullied
Gerund: sullying

Imperative

sully

sully

Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	Sully - United States painter (born in England) of portraits and historical scenes (1783-1872) Thomas Sully
	2.	Sully - French statesman (1560-1641) Duc de Sully, Maxmilien de Bethune
Verb	1.	sully - place under suspicion or cast doubt upon; "sully someone's reputation" defile, taint, corrupt, cloud mar, deflower, impair, vitiate, spoil - make imperfect; "nothing marred her beauty"
	2.	sully - make dirty or spotty, as by exposure to air; also used metaphorically; "The silver was tarnished by the long exposure to the air"; "Her reputation was sullied after the affair with a married man" maculate, tarnish, defile, stain blob, fleck, blot, spot - make a spot or mark onto; "The wine spotted the tablecloth" darken - tarnish or stain; "a scandal that darkened the family's good name"
	3.	sully - charge falsely or with malicious intent; attack the good name and reputation of someone; "The journalists have defamed me!" "The article in the paper sullied my reputation" asperse, besmirch, calumniate, defame, slander, smirch, denigrate, smear accuse, charge - blame for, make a claim of wrongdoing or misbehavior against; "he charged the director with indifference" assassinate - destroy or damage seriously, as of someone's reputation; "He assassinated his enemy's character" libel - print slanderous statements against; "The newspaper was accused of libeling him" badmouth, drag through the mud, malign, traduce - speak unfavorably about; "She badmouths her husband everywhere"

Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

sully

verb

1. dishonour, ruin, disgrace, besmirch, smirch Reputations are easily sullied and business lost.

2. defile, dirty, stain, spot, spoil, contaminate, pollute, taint, tarnish, blemish, befoul I felt loath to sully the gleaming brass knocker by handling it.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

sully

verb

1. To make dirty:

befoul, begrime, besmirch, besoil, black, blacken, defile, dirty, smudge, smutch, soil.

2. To contaminate the reputation of:

befoul, besmear, besmirch, bespatter, blacken, cloud, denigrate, dirty, smear, smudge, smut, soil, spatter, stain, taint, tarnish.

Idioms: give a black eye to, sling mud on.

The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Translations

beschmutzen

macchiare

sully

[ˈsʌlɪ] VT (poet) [+ name, reputation] → manchar, mancillar

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

sully

vt reputation → besudeln; to sully one’s hands by doing something (fig) → sich (dat) → die Hände schmutzig machen, indem man etw tut

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

sully

[ˈsʌlɪ] vt (frm) → macchiare

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995