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besmirch

American  
[bih-smurch] / bɪˈsmɜrtʃ /

verb (used with object)

  1. to soil; tarnish; discolor.

  2. to detract from the honor or luster of.

    to besmirch someone's good name.
    Synonyms:
    besmear, sully, discredit, dishonor, blacken, soil, tarnish, stain
besmirch British  
/ bɪˈsmɜːtʃ /

verb

  1. to make dirty; soil

  2. to reduce the brightness or lustre of

  3. to sully (often in the phrase besmirch ( a person's ) name )

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • besmircher noun
  • unbesmirched adjective

Etymology

Origin of besmirch

First recorded in 1590–1600; be- + smirch

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.