sully

present singular third person sullies · participle present sullying · participle past sullied · past sullied · alternative sullow

1. transitiveTo soil or stain; to dirty.

   He did not wish to sully his hands with gardening.

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   THoſe Ills your Anceſtors have done, / Romans, are now become your own ; / And they will coſt you dear, / Unleſs you ſoon repair / The falling Temples which the Gods provoke, / And Statues ſully’d yet with Sacrilegious Smoke.

   1672, The Earl of Roscommon [Wentworth Dillon, 4th Earl of Roscommon], “The Sixth Ode, of the Third Book of Horace”, in Poems by the Earl of Roscomon, London: J[acob] Tonson, published 1717, page 153, lines 1–6

   His nether garment was of yellow nankeen, closely fitted to the shape, and tied at his bunches of knees by large knots of white ribbon, a good deal sullied by use.

   1826, [James Fenimore Cooper], chapter I, in The Last of the Mohicans; a Narrative of 1757. […], volume I, Philadelphia, Pa.: H[enry] C[harles] Carey & I[saac] Lea— […], →OCLC, page 10

   Synonyms: befoul, sowl, tarnish, assoil, beclart, bedaub, bedirty, imbrue (especially with blood)

2. transitiveTo corrupt or damage.

   She tried to sully her rival’s reputation with a suggestive comment.

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   Ken Starr would later conclude that it was a mistake for him to expand into the Monica Lewinsky matter, largely because of the disastrous impact it would have on his Whitewater/Madison investigation and in sullying his otherwise sterling professional reputation.

   2010, Ken Gormley, “One Nation Divided”, in The Death of American Virtue: Clinton vs. Starr, New York, N.Y.: Crown Publishers, →ISBN, page 431

   As a child, Jane [Eyre] is completely bereft of love, living a loveless existence, which sullies her character. Her emotions are raw and, on the surface, completely out of control.

   2014, Dedra Mcdonald Birzer, “To Delight in Sacrifice: True Love in Jane Eyre”, in Charlotte Brontë, edited by Jill Kriegel, Jane Eyre: With an Introduction and Contemporary Criticism (Ignatius Critical Editions), San Francisco, Calif.: Ignatius Press, →ISBN, page 569

   Principal Ferguson crossed his arms over his chest. “Nonsense. You two reprobates are responsible for sullying my reputation.” “No, we're not,” I said. “We don't even know what reprobates and sullying mean!” said Michael.

   2017, James Patterson and Chris Grabenstein, Pottymouth and Stoopid, page 200

   Synonyms: besmirch, debase, stain, tarnish, assassinate, asperse, backbite, badmouth

3. ergativeintransitiveTo become soiled or tarnished.

   [G]old bears the fire, which ſilver doth not: but that is an excellency in nature, but it is nothing at all in uſe; for any dignity in uſe I know none, but that ſilvering will ſully and canker more than gilding; […]

   1730, Francis Bacon, “The Lord Bacon’s Questions, with Dr. Meverel’s Solutions, Concerning the Compounding, Incorporating, or Union of Metals or Minerals; which Subject is the First Letter of His Lordship’s Alphabet”, in The Works of Francis Bacon, Baron of Verulam, Viscount St Alban, and Lord High Chancellor of England, volume III, London: J. and J. Knapton [et al.], →OCLC, page 215

plural sullies

1. obsoleterareA blemish.

   You laying these ſlight ſallies on my ſonne, / As t'were a thing a little ſoyld with working, […]

   c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, The Tragicall Historie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke: […] (Second Quarto), London: […] I[ames] R[oberts] for N[icholas] L[ing] […], published 1604, →OCLC, [Act II, scene i]

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   After all, it must be confessed, that a noble and triumphant merit often breaks through and dissipates these little spots and sullies in its reputation; but if, by a mistaken pursuit after fame, or through human infirmity any false step be made in the more momentous concerns of life, the whole scheme of ambitious designs is broken and disappointed.

   1712 January 3 (Gregorian calendar), [Joseph Addison; Richard Steele et al.], “SUNDAY, December 24, 1711”, in The Spectator, number 256; republished in Alexander Chalmers, editor, The Spectator; a New Edition, […], volume III, New York, N.Y.: D[aniel] Appleton & Company, 1853, →OCLC, page 278

   Roses, ere their crimson breast / Throws aside its green moss vest; / Young hearts, or ere toil, or care, / Or gold, has left a sully there.

   1823 August 9, L. E. L., “Original Poetry. Poetical Catalogue of Pictures. Stothard’s Erato.”, in The Literary Gazette, and Journal of Belles Lettres, Arts, Sciences, &c., number 342, London: Printed by B. Bensley, Bolt Court, Fleet Street; published for the proprietors, at the Literary Gazette Office, Strand; sold also by Bell and Bradfute, Edinburgh; John Cumming, Dublin; and all other booksellers, newsmen, &c., →OCLC, page 507, column 3

plural Sullys · plural Sullies

1. countableuncountableA surname.
2. countableuncountableA diminutive of the male given name Sullivan.
3. A placename:
   1. countableuncountableA coastal village in the Vale of Glamorgan borough county borough, Wales (OS grid ref ST1568).
   2. countableuncountableA commune in Saône-et-Loire department, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, France.
   3. countableuncountableA commune in Oise department, Hauts-de-France, France.
   4. countableuncountableA commune in Calvados department, Normandy, France.
   5. countableuncountableA minor city in Jasper County, Iowa, United States.
   6. countableuncountableAn unincorporated community in Randolph County, West Virginia, United States.
   7. abbreviationcountableellipsisuncountableEllipsis of Sully County.