besmirch (besmirches 3rd person present) (besmirching present participle) (besmirched past tense & past participle )If you besmirch someone or their reputation, you say that they are a bad person or that they have done something wrong, usually when this is not true.
LITERARY verb
(=sully)
He has accused local people of trying to besmirch his reputation. V n