sul·ly /ˈsʌli/
(vt.)沾汙,弄髒汙點,髒污
Sul·ly v. t. [imp. & p. p. Sullied p. pr. & vb. n. Sullying ] 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.
Statues sullied yet with sacrilegious smoke. --Roscommon.
No spots to sully the brightness of this solemnity. --Atterbury.
Sul·ly, v. i. To become soiled or tarnished.
Silvering will sully and canker more than gilding. --Bacon.
Sul·ly, n.; pl. Sullies Soil; tarnish; stain.
A noble and triumphant merit breaks through little spots and sullies in his reputation. --Spectator.
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Sully
n 1: United States painter (born in England) of portraits and
historical scenes (1783-1872) [syn: Thomas Sully]
2: French statesman (1560-1641) [syn: Duc de Sully, Maxmilien
de Bethune]
v 1: place under suspicion or cast doubt upon; "sully someone's
reputation" [syn: defile, corrupt, taint, cloud]
2: 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]
3: 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]