SULLYING

Verb

sullying

present participle of sully

Noun

sullying (plural sullyings)

The process by which something is sullied or made dirty.

Source: Wiktionary


SULLY

Sul"ly, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Sullied; p. pr. & vb. n. Sullying.] Etym: [OE. sulien, AS. sylian, fr. sol mire; akin to G. suhle mire, sich, sühlen to wallow, Sw. söla to bemire, Dan. söle, Goth. bisaulijan to defile.]

Definition: 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.

Definition: To become soiled or tarnished. Silvering will sully and canker more than gilding. Bacon.

Sul"ly, n.; pl. Sullies (.

Definition: Soil; tarnish; stain. A noble and triumphant merit breaks through little spots and sullies in his reputation. Spectator.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

30 November 2024

HYPOTHETICAL

(noun) a hypothetical possibility, circumstance, statement, proposal, situation, etc.; “consider the following, just as a hypothetical”


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Coffee Trivia

There are four varieties of commercially viable coffee: Arabica, Liberica, Excelsa, and Robusta. Growers predominantly plant the Arabica species. Although less popular, Robusta tastes slightly more bitter and contains more caffeine.

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