Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1500-1600
Origin: Probably from Old French soiller; SOIL2

sully

 verb
     
sul‧ly past tense and past participle sullied, present participle sullying, third person singular sullies [transitive] formal or literary
to spoil or reduce the value of something that was perfect:
a scandal that sullied his reputation
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

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