Link Centre Dictionary

besmirch

bes·mirch

UK/bɪˈsmɜːtʃ/ US/bɪˈsmɝːt͡ʃ/ fairly common literary

verb

1.

charge falsely or with malicious intent; attack the good name and reputation of someone

  • “The journalists have defamed me!”
  • “The article in the paper sullied my reputation”
Synonyms
2.

smear so as to make dirty or stained

Synonyms

Origin

From Middle English besmorchen (attested in besmorchid). Compare Middle English bismotered (“bespattered, soiled”). By surface analysis, be- + smirch.

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WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.