sully
1. 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 • Syn: defame, slander, smirch, asperse, denigrate, calumniate, smear, besmirch • Derivationally related forms: smear (for: smear), calumny (for: calumniate), denigratory (for: denigrate), denigration (for: denigrate), aspersion (for: asperse), smirch (for: smirch), slander (for: slander), slanderer (for: slander), defamatory (for: defame), defamation (for: defame), defamer (for: defame) • Hypernyms: charge, accuse • Hyponyms: assassinate, libel, badmouth, malign, traduce, drag through the mud • Verb Frames: - Somebody ----s somebody - Something ----s somebody 2. place under suspicion or cast doubt upon - sully someone's reputation • Syn: defile, corrupt, taint, cloud • Derivationally related forms: cloud (for: cloud) • Hypernyms: mar, impair, spoil, deflower, vitiate • Verb Frames: - Somebody ----s something - Something ----s somebody - Something ----s something 3. 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 • Syn: tarnish, stain, maculate, defile • Derivationally related forms: macula (for: maculate), maculation (for: maculate), stain (for: stain), tarnish (for: tarnish) • Hypernyms: spot, fleck, blob, blot • Hyponyms: darken • Verb Frames: - Something ----s - Somebody ----s something - Something ----s something
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