Besmirch is an English word with synonyms like smear or charge. Below you'll find 10+ example sentences showing how it's used in practice.
Besmirch meaning
- To make dirty.
- To tarnish something, especially someone's reputation.
Using Besmirch
- The main meaning on this page is: To make dirty. | To tarnish something, especially someone's reputation.
- Useful related words include: smirch, smear, charge, sully.
- In the example corpus, besmirch often appears in combinations such as: to besmirch, besmirch the, besmirch his.
Context around Besmirch
- Average sentence length in these examples: 24.5 words
- Position in the sentence: 2 start, 10 middle, 5 end
- Sentence types: 16 statements, 1 questions, 0 exclamations
Corpus analysis for Besmirch
- In this selection, "besmirch" usually appears in the middle of the sentence. The average example has 24.5 words, and this corpus slice is mostly made up of statements.
- Around the word, failures, irrevocably, further, itself, brittany and reputations stand out and add context to how "besmirch" is used.
- Recognizable usage signals include book to besmirch reputations destroy and do to besmirch the red. That gives this page its own corpus information beyond isolated example sentences.
- By corpus frequency, "besmirch" sits close to words such as aaaa, abductees and abdulahi, which helps place it inside the broader word index.
Example types with besmirch
The same corpus examples are grouped by length and sentence type, making it easier to see the contexts in which the word appears:
Indeed, the Emerald Isle continues to irrevocably besmirch itself. (9 words)
Why would they do that if not to further besmirch his character? (12 words)
If you do to besmirch the Red Bull name, you’re gone. (12 words)
Similarly, when the Palestinians falsely claimed that a massacre had taken place in Jenin, this was intended to not only besmirch the Jewish state but also to provoke a visceral emotional reaction against Israel and in support of the Palestinians. (40 words)
With group B, they try to isolate individuals, atomise strong groupings, and then bring out every dirty trick in the book to besmirch reputations, destroy trust between allies, attack resource bases, and sow doubt, fear and a sense of helplessness. (40 words)
What the fires crisis revealed is the utter ineptitude of so many ministers whose failures besmirch the good work of those who are actually qualified and lumped in with the negligentsia, the ministers not there even when they are. (39 words)
Why would they do that if not to further besmirch his character? (12 words)
Example sentences (17)
Similarly, when the Palestinians falsely claimed that a massacre had taken place in Jenin, this was intended to not only besmirch the Jewish state but also to provoke a visceral emotional reaction against Israel and in support of the Palestinians.
What the fires crisis revealed is the utter ineptitude of so many ministers whose failures besmirch the good work of those who are actually qualified and lumped in with the negligentsia, the ministers not there even when they are.
But don't drag me down with you and besmirch my good name.
If you give a dog a bad name then you are going to besmirch his bony fidos in perpetuity.
Indeed, the Emerald Isle continues to irrevocably besmirch itself.
Senator Linda Reynolds is an unreliable witness using a defamation lawsuit to besmirch Brittany Higgins and David Sharaz over her political demise, a court has been told.
And while he tries to besmirch the results, as he has done with all of his anti-American maneuvers, he will fail.
It can besmirch a former vice president, a former U.S. senator, and all the media now, finally is talking about it.
The fourth is the possibility that the international community might have compelled the Buhari government to take action, barring which they would go to town to besmirch his administration (assuming Magu is guilty as charged).
The think tank has sought to play down or even besmirch those — such as China expert John Garnaut— warning that Huang and the Chinese government might be covertly meddling in Australia’s political affairs.
Why would they do that if not to further besmirch his character?
With group B, they try to isolate individuals, atomise strong groupings, and then bring out every dirty trick in the book to besmirch reputations, destroy trust between allies, attack resource bases, and sow doubt, fear and a sense of helplessness.
You used western media to besmirch my character, to destroy the black man who was fighting white supremacy.
Don’t you dare besmirch the legend that is Van Wilder-era Tara Reid.
If you do to besmirch the Red Bull name, you’re gone.
You and BMC are consistently insulting citizens and trying to besmirch a right which exposes BMC and its misdeeds,” Gandhi said.
Cook, Michael, The Koran: A Very Short Introduction, Oxford University Press, (2000) In Egypt and the rest of the Muslim world "the word secular, a label proudly worn 30 years ago, is shunned" and "used to besmirch" political foes.
Common combinations with besmirch
These word pairs occur most frequently in English texts:
- to besmirch 9×
- besmirch the 5×
- besmirch his 3×
- besmirch my 2×