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Dirt vs Sully - What's the difference?

dirt | sully | Related terms |

As verbs the difference between dirt and sully

is that dirt is to make foul or filthy; soil; befoul; dirty while sully is to soil or stain; to dirty.

As a noun dirt

is soil or earth.

As an acronym DIRT

is Deposit Interest Retention Tax

dirt

English

Alternative forms

* (obsolete)

Noun

(en-noun)
  • soil or earth
  • A stain or spot (on clothes etc); any foreign substance that worsens appearance
  • Previously unknown facts, or the invented "facts", about a person; gossip
    • The reporter uncovered the dirt on the businessman by going undercover.
  • Meanness; sordidness.
  • * Melmoth
    • honours thrown away upon dirt and infamy
  • In placer mining, earth, gravel, etc., before washing.

    • Derived terms

    * dirt bike * dirt nap * dirty * do someone dirt

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • (rare) To make foul or filthy; soil; befoul; dirty

    • sully

    English

    Alternative forms

    * (l)

    Verb

  • to soil or stain; to dirty
    • He did not wish to sully his hands with gardening.
  • * Roscommon
    • statues sullied yet with sacrilegious smoke
  • to damage or corrupt
    • He did not wish to sully his reputation with an ill-mannered comment.
  • * Atterbury
    • no spots to sully the brightness of this solemnity
  • To become soiled or tarnished.
  • * Francis Bacon
    • Silvering will sully and canker more than gilding.