different between discredit vs sully

English

Etymology

dis- +? credit.

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -?d?t

Verb

discredit (third-person singular simple present discredits, present participle discrediting, simple past and past participle discredited)

1. (transitive) To harm the good reputation of a person; to cause an idea or piece of evidence to seem false or unreliable.

   The candidate tried to discredit his opponent.

   The evidence would tend to discredit such a theory.

Synonyms

• demean, disgrace, dishonour, disprove, invalidate, tell against

Derived terms

• discreditor

Translations

Noun

discredit (countable and uncountable, plural discredits)

1. (countable or uncountable) Discrediting or disbelieving.
2. (countable) A person or thing that causes harm to a reputation, as of a person, family, or institution.
3. (uncountable) The state of being discredited or disbelieved.

   Later accounts have brought the story into discredit.

4. (uncountable) A degree of dishonour or disesteem; ill repute; reproach.
   • 1815, Doctor Rogers, “A good Life the best Ornament of the Christian Profession” (sermon), in Family Lectures: or, a copious Collection of Sermons, F. C. and J. Rivington et al., page 351:

     It is the duty of every Christian to be concerned for the reputation or discredit his life may bring on his profession.

Synonyms

• (degree of dishonour): demerit

Translations

References

• discredit in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• discredit at OneLook Dictionary Search

Romanian

Etymology

From French discrédit.

Noun

discredit n (uncountable)

1. disrepute

Declension

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