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

"It is an unadulterated lie because it tries to besmirch the very DNA of a new South Africa that was born under the leadership of someone like Nelson Mandela," he told the BBC World Service.

From BBC ● Mar. 28, 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

“And it would really besmirch the reputation of the Academies, which I felt strongly about defending.”

From New York Times ● Apr. 28, 2023

The critics were jealous, the articles said, and looking for ways to besmirch the respected surgeons involved in Garfield's care.

From "Ambushed!" by Gail Jarrow

"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 Charles W. Wood

“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

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

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

Holmes ought to be ashamed of besmirching the fine reputation many of us have worked to build.

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 14, 2022

It is an occurrence as common in big cities as are the lofty chimneys, and besmirching haze which, on the horizon, herald the approach of a place where men and women are gathered closely together.

From Sally Bishop A Romance by E. Temple (Ernest Temple) Thurston