sully

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“
Specially the Countess showed that amiable condescension of great ladies whom no contact can sully, and she was charming.

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Definitions (16)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (3)

  1. transitive verb To mar the cleanness or luster of; soil or stain.
  2. transitive verb To defile; taint.
  3. noun Archaic Something that stains or spots.

Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (5)

Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (3)

Toggle WordNet definitions WordNet (5)

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Examples (50)

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This word has been looked up 122 times.

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Roget's II Roget's II: The New Thesaurus

Allen's Allen's Synonyms and Antonyms

Used in the same contextWord Family

sully:   sullying
Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (3)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Probably from French souiller, from Old French; see soil2.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (2)

  1. Early modern English also sullow; from Middle English sulien, from Anglo-Saxon sylian, sully, defile, bemire (= Old Saxon sulian =Middle Dutch soluwen = Old High German bi-sulian, German sühlen, sully, = Swedish söla = Danish söle = Gothic (Moesogothic) bi-sauljan, bemire), from sol = Old High German sol, Middle High German sol, söl. G. suhle = Danish söl, mire. The form sully is prob. due in part to the Old French sollier, souiller, etc., soil, sully: see soil, with which sully is often confused.
  2. from sully, v.
 

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/ˈsəli/
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