besmirkEtymologyVariant of besmirch, as if be- + smirk.verbTo besmirch; sully; befoul.“A mighty people, strong, reliant, free, / With souls sustained by foulest sorcery / Of noxious demagogues whose wiles disguise / Their sanguine lusts, and whose polluted lies / Besmirk the fairest form of Liberty!”