sully
1. charge falsely or with malicious intent;
attack the good name and reputation of someone
- The journalists have defamed me!" "The article in the paper sullied my reputation
• Syn:
defame, slander, smirch, asperse, denigrate,
calumniate, smear, besmirch
• Derivationally related forms:
smear (for: smear), calumny (for: calumniate), denigratory (for: denigrate), denigration (for: denigrate), aspersion (for: asperse), smirch (for: smirch), slander (for: slander), slanderer (for: slander), defamatory (for: defame), defamation (for: defame), defamer (for: defame)
• Hypernyms:
charge, accuse
• Hyponyms:
assassinate, libel, badmouth, malign, traduce, drag through the mud
• Verb Frames:
- Somebody ----s somebody
- Something ----s somebody
2. place under suspicion or cast doubt upon
- sully someone's reputation
• Syn:
defile, corrupt, taint, cloud
• Derivationally related forms:
cloud (for: cloud)
• Hypernyms:
mar, impair, spoil, deflower, vitiate
• Verb Frames:
- Somebody ----s something
- Something ----s somebody
- Something ----s something
3. make dirty or spotty, as by exposure to air;
also used metaphorically
- The silver was tarnished by the long exposure to the air
- Her reputation was sullied after the affair with a married man
• Syn:
tarnish, stain, maculate, defile
• Derivationally related forms:
macula (for: maculate), maculation (for: maculate), stain (for: stain), tarnish (for: tarnish)
• Hypernyms:
spot, fleck, blob, blot
• Hyponyms:
darken
• Verb Frames:
- Something ----s
- Somebody ----s something
- Something ----s something
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