Word · Frequency #22089
sully
弄脏
to make something dirty
- 1.
To soil or stain; to dirty.
弄脏或污染；弄脏
- 2.
To corrupt or damage.
腐蚀或损害
败坏；损害（名誉等）；弄脏或污染；弄脏；腐蚀或损害；玷污
In use
The mud sullied her white dress.
The scandal sullied the politician's reputation.
Don't let these false rumors sully our good name.
sully + noun phrase
sully常用于抽象意义，如名声、荣誉等。
The scandal sullied his reputation.
这桩丑闻玷污了他的名声。
be sullied by/with + noun phrase
被动结构强调动作承受者。
Her honor was sullied by the false accusation.
她的名誉被不实指控玷污了。
sully + noun (concrete object)
也可用于具体物体，但较少见。
The mud sullied his new shoes.
泥土弄脏了他的新鞋。
Verb forms
base sully · third person sullies · -ing sullying · past sullied · past participle sullied
规则变化：y变i加-ed
Common mistakes
The scandal sullied his reputation seriously.The scandal seriously sullied his reputation.
副词位置错误：在主动语态中，程度副词seriously应置于动词sully之前修饰动词，而非置于句末，以符合英语副词修饰动词的常规语序。
His action sully the team's honor.His action sullies the team's honor.
主谓一致错误：主语his action为第三人称单数，动词sully的第三人称单数形式应为sullies，需保持主谓数的一致。
Connections
Collocations
- sully a reputation
- 玷污名誉
- The scandal sullied his reputation.这桩丑闻玷污了他的名誉。
- sully an image
- 损害形象
- The company's mistakes sullied its image.公司的失误损害了它的形象。
- sully a name
- 败坏名声
- He refused to sully the family name.他拒绝败坏家族的名声。
- sully a record
- 玷污记录
- The doping scandal sullied her athletics record.兴奋剂丑闻玷污了她的运动记录。
- sully one's hands
- 弄脏双手；做不体面的事
- He refused to sully his hands with dishonest dealings.他拒绝做不诚实的交易来弄脏自己的手。
Idioms & figurative uses
Learner notes
Memory Tip
想象白色丝绸被墨汁溅到，瞬间sullied（弄脏）了。
Context & Register
语域：formal 常见场景：reputation、honor、purity 通常用于正式或文学语境，描述玷污抽象事物（如名声、荣誉、纯洁）等。
Pronunciation & Spelling
Words ending in -ully and pronounced /ʌli/: dully, gully. Note: bully (/'bʊli/) and pulley (/'pʊli/) look similar but have a different vowel (/ʊ/).
Learn the forms together
页面下方列出了常见词形变化。学习时注意它们在句子中的语法位置。
Dictionary facts from ECDICT, WIKTIONARY.