smeary

[ smeer-ee ]
See synonyms for smeary on Thesaurus.com
adjective,smear·i·er, smear·i·est.
  1. showing smears; smeared.

  2. tending to smear or soil.

Origin of smeary

1
First recorded in 1520–30; smear + -y1

Other words from smeary

  • smear·i·ness, noun

Words Nearby smeary

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

How to use smeary in a sentence

  • A lightly tapered tip gives it just enough rise for buttery turn initiations and an overall smeary playfulness.

    Long-Term Review: The Best Skis, Period | Heather Schultz and Marc Peruzzi | March 4, 2021 | Outside Online
  • Ms Galvez caught me staring at it and handed me a permission slip on smeary Xeroxed school letterhead.

    Little Brother | Cory Doctorow
  • What did they care for dust on the books and smeary window panes?

  • In front of it a sagging woman with tight-drawn hair, and a baby bedraggled, smeary, glorious-eyed.

    Main Street | Sinclair Lewis
  • He had a passion for stealing sugarall the door knobs were smeary and sticky where his sugary hands had reached to open the doors.

    Joan of the Journal | Helen Diehl Olds
  • Poppy was painting, standing before a huge canvas and looking very smeary; she gave me a cheek to kiss, and she was thin!

    Affinities and Other Stories | Mary Roberts Rinehard

British Dictionary definitions for smeary

smeary

/ (ˈsmɪərɪ) /


adjective-rier or -riest
  1. smeared, dirty; blurred by smearing

Derived forms of smeary

  • smearily, adverb
  • smeariness, noun

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