accuse vs sully

accuse and sully both are verbs.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
accuse	No	No	Yes	No
sully	No	No	Yes	No

As verbs, sully is a hyponym of accuse; that is, sully is a word with a more specific, narrower meaning than accuse:

accuse: blame for, make a claim of wrongdoing or misbehavior against
sully: charge falsely or with malicious intent; attack the good name and reputation of someone

accuse (verb)	sully (verb)
bring an accusation against; level a charge against	charge falsely or with malicious intent; attack the good name and reputation of someone
blame for, make a claim of wrongdoing or misbehavior against	make dirty or spotty, as by exposure to air; also used metaphorically
	place under suspicion or cast doubt upon