different between denigrate vs sully

English

Etymology

From Latin d?nigr?tus, the past participle of d?nigr?re (“to blacken”), from d? + nigrare (“to blacken”) (from niger (“black”)).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?d?n.?.??e?t/

Verb

denigrate (third-person singular simple present denigrates, present participle denigrating, simple past and past participle denigrated)

1. (transitive) To criticise so as to besmirch; traduce, disparage or defame.
2. (transitive) To treat as worthless; belittle, degrade or disparage.

3. (rare) To blacken.

Derived terms

• denigration
• denigratory

Translations

References

• “denigrate”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–present.

Anagrams

• antigreed, dinergate, giant reed, gratineed, gratinéed

Italian

Verb

denigrate

1. second-person plural present and imperative of denigrare

Anagrams

• gradiente

English

Etymology

From Middle English sulen, sulien (“to become dirty; to defile, pollute, taint”), from Old English sylian (“to soil, pollute; to sully”), from Proto-Germanic *suliw?n?, *sulw?n?, *sulwijan? (“to make dirty; to sully”), from Proto-Indo-European *s?l- (“thick liquid, muck”), perhaps conflated partially with Old French souillier (“to soil”) (modern French souiller) from the same Germanic source. The word is cognate with Danish søle (“to sully”), Dutch zaluwen (“to sully”) (Middle Dutch saluwen (“to sully”)), German sühlen (“to sully”), Old Saxon sulian (“to sully”), Swedish söla (“to sully”). Also compare Middle English sulpen (“to defile, pollute”), Old English solian (“to soil, become defiled, make or become foul”), and see more at soil.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA^(key): /?s?li/
• Rhymes: -?li
• Hyphenation: sul?ly

Verb

sully (third-person singular simple present sullies, present participle sullying, simple past and past participle sullied)

1. (transitive) To soil or stain; to dirty.

   Synonym: (obsolete) sowl
2. (transitive) To corrupt or damage.
3. (intransitive, ergative) To become soiled or tarnished.

Alternative forms

• sullow

Coordinate terms

• (to corrupt or damage): besmirch, debase, stain, tarnish

Derived terms

• besully
• unsullied
• unsully

Translations

Noun

sully (plural sullies)

1. (rare, obsolete) A blemish.

References