What does "sully" mean?
A blemish.
Sully
/ˈsʌli/ name, noun, verb
name, noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A blemish.
- Grammar: sully is listed as name, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: besmirch, defame, defile, stain.
- Useful contrasts: clean, exonerate, honor.
- Usage evidence: I wouldn't want to sully your good name.
How to use "sully"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "sully" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "sully" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "sully" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "sully" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "sully" is acting as name, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "besmirch" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "sully", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A blemish. obsolete, rare
"You laying these ſlight ſallies on my ſonne, / As t'were a thing a little ſoyld with working, […]"
Verb
- 1 To soil or stain; to dirty. transitive
"He did not wish to sully his hands with gardening."
- 2 charge falsely or with malicious intent; attack the good name and reputation of someone wordnet
- 3 To corrupt or damage. transitive
"She tried to sully her rival’s reputation with a suggestive comment."
- 4 make dirty or spotty, as by exposure to air; also used metaphorically wordnet
- 5 To become soiled or tarnished. ergative, intransitive
"[G]old bears the fire, which ſilver doth not: but that is an excellency in nature, but it is nothing at all in uſe; for any dignity in uſe I know none, but that ſilvering will ſully and canker more than gilding; […]"
Show 1 more definition
- 6 place under suspicion or cast doubt upon wordnet
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname. countable, uncountable
- 2 A diminutive of the male given name Sullivan. countable, uncountable
- 3 A placename:; A coastal village in the Vale of Glamorgan borough county borough, Wales (OS grid ref ST1568). countable, uncountable
- 4 A placename:; A commune in Saône-et-Loire department, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, France. countable, uncountable
- 5 A placename:; A commune in Oise department, Hauts-de-France, France. countable, uncountable
Show 4 more definitions
- 6 A placename:; A commune in Calvados department, Normandy, France. countable, uncountable
- 7 A placename:; A minor city in Jasper County, Iowa, United States. countable, uncountable
- 8 A placename:; An unincorporated community in Randolph County, West Virginia, United States. countable, uncountable
- 9 A placename:; Ellipsis of Sully County. abbreviation, alt-of, countable, ellipsis, uncountable
Example
"I wouldn't want to sully your good name."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "sully"?
Common synonyms include: besmirch, defame, defile, stain, taint, tarnish.
How do you use "sully" in a sentence?
I wouldn't want to sully your good name.
How do you pronounce "sully"?
Pronounced /ˈsʌli/.
Etymology
From 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.