Sul"ly (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Sullied (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Sullying (?).] [OE. sulien, AS. sylian, fr. sol mire; akin to G. suhle mire, sich, suhlen to wallow, Sw. sola to bemire, Dan. sole, Goth. bisaulijan to defile.]
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.
© Webster 1913.
Sul"ly, v. i.
To become soiled or tarnished.
Silvering will sully and canker more than gilding.
Bacon.
© Webster 1913.
Sul"ly, n.; pl. Sullies ().
Soil; tarnish; stain.
A noble and triumphant merit breaks through little spots and sullies in his reputation.
Spectator.
© Webster 1913.