sully vs impair

sully and impair both are verbs.

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

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

Other hypernyms of sully include deflower, mar, spoil, vitiate.

sully (verb)	impair (verb)
charge falsely or with malicious intent; attack the good name and reputation of someone	make worse or less effective
make dirty or spotty, as by exposure to air; also used metaphorically	make imperfect
place under suspicion or cast doubt upon