sully vs accuse

sully and accuse both are verbs.

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

As verbs, accuse is a hypernym of sully; that is, accuse is a word with a broader meaning than sully:

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

Other hypernyms of sully include charge.

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