GRE vocabulary
besmirch
to damage someone's reputation or sully their honor
Test your vocabulary in a real test Full-length · no signup · instant score
Keep going
See all More GRE words starting with B
bacchanalian
marked by riotous, unrestrained revelry and drunken festivity
badger
to pester or harass someone persistently
badinage
light, playful, and witty banter
baffle
to confuse or perplex thoroughly
baleful
threatening harm or menacing in a sinister way
balk
to hesitate or refuse to proceed with something
balloon
to swell or puff out, or to increase rapidly in amount or size
banal
lacking originality and so dull or commonplace
Common questions
Questions about “besmirch”
Besmirch (verb) means to damage someone's reputation or sully their honor
Here is besmirch used in an example sentence: "The tabloid set out to besmirch the senator's good name."
Common synonyms for besmirch include tarnish, sully, defame, smear.
Antonyms of besmirch include honor, cleanse.
Besmirch is a GRE-level vocabulary word worth knowing for the Verbal section.
See these words the way the GRE tests them.
Definitions in isolation do not stick. Sit a free, full-length GRE mock and meet this vocabulary inside real text completion and sentence equivalence questions, with your score and a worked solution for every answer.