smirched

Stained with disgrace

Smirched means stained, soiled, or sullied.

The word appears almost exclusively in figurative contexts about reputation or honor: a smirched name, her reputation was smirched by the scandal.

The literal sense of physical dirtying exists but sounds archaic.

Smirched is the past tense and past participle of smirch, itself a rare word.

soiled

stained

Marred by discoloration

spotted · blotched · streaked · sooty · grimy · muddy · grubby · blemished · marked · splattered

disgraced

shamed

Made to feel disgrace

vilified · denigrated · disparaged · tainted · sullied · slurred · maligned · slandered · scandalized · reproached

Opposites
physical cleanliness

smirchedclean

Free of soil

spotless · unsoiled · unsullied · pristine · immaculate

moral/reputational purity

smirchedunsullied

Not made impure

untarnished · unblemished · pure · spotless · honorable

Family

besmirch, besmirching, besmirched, smirch, besmirches, smirching

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Profile
Used worldwide · Timeless · Negative · Everyday, not technical · Rated G