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sully

verb [T]
 
 
/ˈsʌl.i/ formal

Definition

to spoil something that is pure or someone's perfect reputation: His reputation, he said, had been unfairly sullied by half-truths and innuendos.Damaging reputationDisapproving and criticizing to make something dirty: No speck of dirt had ever sullied his hands.Making things dirty and untidy
(Definition of sully verb from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)
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