1-Stop Dictionary Reference

Besmirch

Acceptable For Game Play - US & UK word lists

This word is acceptable for play in the US & UK dictionaries that are being used in the following games:

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

v. To stain; sully: a reputation that was besmirched by slander.

v. To make dirty; soil.

Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

v. To make dirty; to soil.

v. To tarnish, especially someone's reputation; to debase.

the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English

v. To smirch or soil; to discolor; to obscure. Hence: To dishonor; to sully.

The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

To soil; discolor, as with soot or mud; hence, to sully; obscure.

WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

v. smear so as to make dirty or stained

v. charge falsely or with malicious intent; attack the good name and reputation of someone

Word Usage

"GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A warning from Michael Jackson's attorney to those who want to -- quote -- "besmirch" the king of pop's reputation."

Verb Form

besmirched besmirches besmirching

Hypernym

Words that are more generic or abstract

smear

Form

besmirched besmirching

Synonym

Words with the same meaning

discolor sully