MEANING
To damage the purity, honour, or good reputation of someone or something.
Use it for
Words that belong together
- sully a reputation
- sully a memory
On the page
The accusation threatened to sully a career built over thirty years.
Nearby words
Word forms
- Base
- sully
- Past tense
- sullied
- Past participle
- sullied
- Present participle
- sullying
Full tense & aspect guide
- Present
- sully
- Present continuous
- am/is/are sullying
- Present perfect
- have/has sullied
- Present perfect continuous
- have/has been sullying
- Past
- sullied
- Past continuous
- was/were sullying
- Past perfect
- had sullied
- Past perfect continuous
- had been sullying
- Future
- will sully
- Future continuous
- will be sullying
- Future perfect
- will have sullied
- Future perfect continuous
- will have been sullying
Choose the auxiliary that agrees with your subject. These are constructions of one word, not separate entries.
Usage notes
Primary category: literary / elevated general. Forms: sully; sullies; sullied; sullied; sullying Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Established modern English lexical item. No separate regional spelling or grammatical inflection entry. Commonness: moderately common. Third-person singular: sullies.
Practice this word in a sentenceYour margin notes
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