begrime.

1. To dirty something with grime, especially accumulated soot or stubborn filth.

2. To tarnish someone's reputation or corrupt something's moral character.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• begrimed walls
• smoke begrimes the glass
• soot-begrimed stone

On the page

Years of smoke had begrimed the carved saints above the fireplace.

Usage notes

Primary category: horror / gothic literary. Lexical Type: Word. Forms: begrime; begrimes; begrimed; begrimed; begriming Commonness: uncommon (editorial estimate; not a corpus frequency statistic). Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1; numbered fields keep each relevant meaning separate. Research distinction: Direct entry read: dirty with grime; sully/corrupt. Two physical/moral-reputational senses, begrimed/begriming. Modern theatrical description demonstrates useful grime imagery, not merely obsolete decoration. Individually reviewed for a precise writer function, not selected merely for rarity. Original definitions/examples; commonness editorial, not a corpus statistic. Genre suitability does not establish inherent fear or emotional intensity. Writing functions: accumulated dirt obscuring detail, figurative corruption of a reputation. Third-person singular: begrimes.