MEANING
1. To harm a person's reputation by attributing disgrace or wrongdoing to them.
2. To stain or soil something physically.
Use it for
Words that belong together
- besmirch a reputation
- besmirch a name
On the page
The rumor besmirched a reputation built over forty years.
She would not let his enemies besmirch the family name unchallenged.
Nearby words
Related words
Word forms
- Base
- besmirch
- Past tense
- besmirched
- Past participle
- besmirched
- Present participle
- besmirching
Full tense & aspect guide
- Present
- besmirch
- Present continuous
- am/is/are besmirching
- Present perfect
- have/has besmirched
- Present perfect continuous
- have/has been besmirching
- Past
- besmirched
- Past continuous
- was/were besmirching
- Past perfect
- had besmirched
- Past perfect continuous
- had been besmirching
- Future
- will besmirch
- Future continuous
- will be besmirching
- Future perfect
- will have besmirched
- Future perfect continuous
- will have been besmirching
Choose the auxiliary that agrees with your subject. These are constructions of one word, not separate entries.
Usage notes
Primary category: literary. Forms: besmirch; besmirches; besmirched; besmirched; besmirching Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Third-person singular: besmirches.
Practice this word in a sentenceYour margin notes
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