besmirch

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

There was also criticism from the Speaker of the National Assembly Moses Wetang'ula, who said the aim of the documentary was to "besmirch" Kenya.

From BBC ● Aug. 14, 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

Russia’s U.N. ambassador, Vassily Nebenzia, accused the West of trying to besmirch his country.

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 7, 2022

“I can’t imagine how you decided to besmirch the movement by inviting those rowdies here.”

From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole

"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

“All the evidence of the fancy suits really is irrelevant and besmirches the defendant.”

From Washington Post ● Aug. 2, 2018

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

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

Their besmirched clothes, blistered feet and cracked lips attested to the ordeal of the nine-day trek, but they still danced and jumped to celebrate their accomplishment.

From BBC ● Feb. 3, 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

Yet having that knowledge somehow doesn't assuage the anxiety that strikes the moment I see a ring of oil-slicked curry from the pot lid besmirching my flawless countertop.

From Salon ● Apr. 18, 2023

The businesses declared themselves outraged by the government besmirching their reputation.

From BBC ● Jan. 18, 2023

“They are targeting this officer and besmirching his reputation for following his attorney’s advice,” Tratnik argued.

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 7, 2022

“She’s calling everyone I know and besmirching my name,” he added.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 25, 2022

Or was it regret at the besmirching of a picture which till now had shone so purely and been so sweetly framed in his memory?

From The Malady of the Century by Max Simon Nordau