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

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

Despite his circumstances, Stokes said he initially turned down offers to audition for “Outer Banks” — it felt like a “Goonies” remake, and he didn’t want to besmirch a classic, he said.

From New York Times ● Feb. 21, 2023

“How dare you besmirch that magnificent image with your vintner’s hands.”

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

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

How is it, I wonder, that while the dear child generally speaks of 'ay and 'ouse, she invariably besmirches with the strongest of aspirates the unfortunate village of H'Orton?

From The Argosy Vol. 51, No. 4, April, 1891 by Wood, Charles W.

“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

Wiping clean the empty high-rise towers besmirching the city skyline with florid graffiti art is a stated priority for buyers and the city, but a federal bankruptcy court has yet to approve the sale.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 28, 2026

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

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

Moreover, if you fall into the mire, you cannot expect to get out of it again without besmirching yourself.

From The Malady of the Century by Nordau, Max Simon