besmirch
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
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Steele doesn’t besmirch the data that punishes his Redhawks, but he also says “there’s something to winning.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 2, 2026
Mr Yusuf said he had never met Gill, and it was unreasonable to "besmirch" Reform UK, Nigel Farage and the party's millions of supporters.
From BBC ● Nov. 23, 2025
Citing this isn’t meant to besmirch Lear’s legacy but, rather, to highlight his flaws as a part of his evolution.
From Salon ● Dec. 7, 2023
It’s still theirs and not yours to besmirch.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 7, 2023
But it was another example of both the lack of knowledge about South Africa in the rest of Africa and the extraordinary lengths the PAC would go to besmirch the ANC.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
"Behaviour like that, whether it's at an Old Firm match or any other football match, besmirches that, and it should absolutely be seen as unacceptable."
From BBC ● Apr. 4, 2022
The prevalence of this ugly fad usage besmirches the language with a jarring oddity, without purpose in clarity or elegance.
From Washington Post ● Aug. 20, 2021
Mud besmirches his van’s tiny, neat living space.
From The Guardian ● Jun. 6, 2018
It is unfortunate that this Times article indirectly besmirches the Yankees.
From New York Times ● Jul. 8, 2017
It may be," he replied, "because I will not encounter the dishonour that besmirches the husband of a faithless woman.
From The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
“New banks didn’t even call themselves banks and instead used the expression caisses, meaning ‘deposits,’ so besmirched was the banking industry’s reputation.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 12, 2025
"What happened thereafter has besmirched the unsuspecting town of Kidwelly," he said.
From BBC ● Mar. 7, 2025
But our own humanity has been besmirched, damaged, undermined by such silences, which, in many ways, represent the most powerful propaganda of all.
From Salon ● May 31, 2023
Securities and Exchange Commission, had wrongly besmirched Hindenburg’s “well-deserved reputation for thoroughness, precision and accuracy.”
From Reuters ● Feb. 2, 2023
Was there any kind of filth with which he had not besmirched himself, any sin and folly which he had not committed, any stain upon his soul for which he alone had not been responsible?
From "Siddhartha" by Hermann Hesse
Schultz saw others in the opera community rally around the attackers, and was criticized for besmirching the reputation of prominent gay men.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 30, 2023
The businesses declared themselves outraged by the government besmirching their reputation.
From BBC ● Jan. 18, 2023
“She’s calling everyone I know and besmirching my name,” he added.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 25, 2022
Like, say, besmirching an evening that featured Black women making Oscars history, with Regina Hall and Wanda Sykes joining Amy Schumer as the first trio of women to host the show.
From Salon ● Mar. 28, 2022
"I won't have you besmirching my fair name!"
From The Rover Boys on a Tour or Last Days at Brill College by Edward Stratemeyer
Vocabulary lists containing besmirch
The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "B"
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All About That Baseless: Bad-Faith Accusations
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