besmirch

/bɪˈsmɜːtʃ/

Etymology

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

besmirch means To make dirty. Lexicurio rates it Rare gem — a strength score of 73 out of 100.

Why this word is great

BESMIRCH — [Verb] To soil, stain, or tarnish, especially someone's reputation. From the Middle English prefix be- (thoroughly, about) + smirch (to soil or stain). Unlike "defame," which implies a legalistic battery of falsehoods, or "sully," which suggests a deeper, more permanent moral corrosion, to besmirch is to daub with a literal, physical grime. It is the splash of mud on a white dress at a garden party, the clumsy thumbprint of engine grease on a starched collar, or the malicious, groundless rumor whispered just loudly enough to be overheard—a tarnishing that feels curiously manual, as if disgrace were a viscous substance one could smear, leaving purity a fragile condition maintained only by constant vigilance.

verb

To make dirty.
To tarnish something, especially someone's reputation.“The newspaper was on a campaign to besmirch the actor.”