Sullying

1 definition found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Sully \Sul"ly\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Sullied}; p. pr. & vb. n.
     {Sullying}.] [OE. sulien, AS. sylian, fr. sol mire; akin to
     G. suhle mire, sich, s["u]hlen to wallow, Sw. s["o]la to
     bemire, Dan. s["o]le, Goth. bisaulijan to defile.]
     To soil; to dirty; to spot; to tarnish; to stain; to darken;
     -- used literally and figuratively; as, to sully a sword; to


     sully a person's reputation.
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           Statues sullied yet with sacrilegious smoke.
                                                    --Roscommon.
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           No spots to sully the brightness of this solemnity.
                                                    --Atterbury.
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