sully

1 of 2

verb

sul·​ly ˈsə-lē How to pronounce sully (audio)
sullied; sullying

transitive verb

: to make soiled or tarnished : defile

sully

2 of 2

noun

plural sullies
archaic
: soil, stain

Examples of sully in a Sentence

Verb people that sully our state parks with their trash a once-gleaming marble interior sullied by decades of exposure to cigarette smoke
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Verb
With Taylor sullied publicly and a leadership void atop the department, Luck became the face of Stanford athletics and the sole possessor of the authority necessary to salvage the football program. Jon Wilner, Mercury News, 27 Mar. 2025 However, his legacy has been sullied by decades of financial disputes and a barrage lawsuits from artists and creditors. Daniel Cassady, ARTnews.com, 14 Jan. 2025 Tom Pendergast had been convicted of income tax evasion in 1939, and Truman’s reputation was sullied by association. Joseph Thorndike, Forbes, 15 Dec. 2024 What started as a general lack of trust for a cloud environment, laden with security concerns, has morphed into significant increase in cloud adoption only to be sullied by the all-in cost of cloud. Paige Francis, Forbes, 8 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for sully

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English *sullien, probably alteration (influenced by Anglo-French suillier, soiller to soil) of sulen to soil, from Old English sylian

First Known Use

Verb

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Noun

1601, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of sully was in the 15th century

Browse Nearby Words

Podcast

Cite this Entry

“Sully.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sully. Accessed 5 Apr. 2025.

Kids Definition

sully

verb
sul·​ly
ˈsəl-ē
sullied; sullying
: to make soiled or tarnished

Biographical Definition

Sully 1 of 2

biographical name (1)

Sul·​ly ˈsə-lē How to pronounce Sully (audio)
(ˌ)sə-ˈlē,
sᵫ-ˈlē
Duc de 1560–1641 Maximilien de Béthune Baron de Rosny də-rō-ˈnē How to pronounce Sully (audio) French statesman

Sully

2 of 2

biographical name (2)

Sul·​ly ˈsə-lē How to pronounce Sully (audio)
Thomas 1783–1872 American (English-born) painter

More from Merriam-Webster on sully

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!