mar

[ mahr ]
See synonyms for mar on Thesaurus.com
verb (used with object),marred, mar·ring.
  1. to damage or spoil to a certain extent; render less perfect, attractive, useful, etc.; impair or spoil: That billboard mars the view. The holiday was marred by bad weather.

  2. to disfigure, deface, or scar: The scratch marred the table.

Origin of mar

1
First recorded before 900; Middle English merren, Old English merran “to hinder, waste”; cognate with Old Saxon merrian, Old High German merren “to hinder,” Old Norse merja “to bruise,” Gothic marzjan “to offend”

synonym study For mar

1, 2. Mar, deface, disfigure, deform agree in applying to some form of injury. Mar is general, but usually refers to an external or surface injury, if it is a physical one: The tabletop was marred by dents and scratches. Deface refers to a surface injury that may be temporary or easily repaired: a tablecloth defaced by penciled notations. Disfigure applies to external injury of a more permanent and serious kind: A birthmark disfigured one side of his face. Deform suggests that something has been distorted or internally injured so severely as to change its normal form or qualities, or else that some fault has interfered with its proper development: deformed by an accident that had crippled him; to deform feet by binding them.

Other words for mar

Opposites for mar

Other words from mar

  • un·mar·ring, adjective

Other definitions for mar. (2 of 4)

mar.

abbreviation
  1. maritime.

  2. married.

Other definitions for Mar. (3 of 4)

Mar.

abbreviation
  1. March.

Other definitions for M.A.R. (4 of 4)

M.A.R.

abbreviation
  1. Master of Arts in Religion.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

British Dictionary definitions for mar (1 of 2)

mar

/ (mɑː) /


verbmars, marring or marred
  1. (tr) to cause harm to; spoil or impair

noun
  1. a disfiguring mark; blemish

Origin of mar

1
Old English merran; compare Old Saxon merrian to hinder, Old Norse merja to bruise

Derived forms of mar

  • marrer, noun

British Dictionary definitions for Mar (2 of 2)

Mar

abbreviation for
  1. March

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012