sully

<font size="-1" face="arial, helvetica"> <p> <strong> <font color="#000066">Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for January 5, 2022 is:</font> </strong> </p> <p> <strong>sully</strong> &#149; \SUL-ee\&nbsp; &#149; <em>verb</em><br /> <p><em>Sully</em> means "to make <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/soil">soiled</a> or tarnished."</p> <p>// The money-related charges brought against the restaurant's owner has <em>sullied</em> her reputation.</p> <p><a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sully">See the entry ></a></p> </p> <p> <strong>Examples:</strong><br /> <p>"When she began living next to the beach in Barcelona, New Yorker Elizabeth Sherr was distressed to see all the cigarette butts and litter <em>sullying</em> its golden sand. The 24-year-old began a campaign to pick up the rubbish piece by piece, posting videos on TikTok encouraging others to get involved." — Graham Keeley, <em>i</em> (inews.co.uk), 10 June 2021</p> </p> <p> <strong>Did you know?</strong><br /> <p>The spelling of <em>sully</em> has shifted several times since it was <em>sylian</em> in Old English, but its meaning has remained essentially the same: "to soil." In case you are wondering whether <em><a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sullen">sullen</a></em> (meaning "gloomy or morose") is a relative, the answer is "no." <em>Sullen</em> comes from Latin <em>solus</em>, meaning "alone."</p> <br /><br /> </p> </font>