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

“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

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

The old one would be nothing but a past episode, a scarecrow revealed, which any sparrow impudently besmirches.

From Men in War by Latzko, Andreas

“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

Instead, “People getting ready to do things” is spelled out in egg yolk, besmirching the virginal purity of its white satin support; and “It’s only vanishing cream” is translucent shellac disappearing against deathly black.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 7, 2024

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

So is the fact that he considered burying other ethically troubling allegations about nominees the decent thing to do—to avoid besmirching their characters.

From Slate ● Jun. 17, 2020

Four months before the Báb’s martyrdom Ṭihrán in its turn was to participate, to a lesser degree and under less dramatic circumstances, in the carnage that was besmirching the face of the country.

From God Passes By by Shoghi Effendi