besmear
Americanverb (used with object)
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to smear all over; bedaub.
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to sully; defile; soil.
to besmear someone's reputation.
verb
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to smear over; daub
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to sully; defile (often in the phrase besmear ( a person's ) reputation )
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of besmear
before 1050; Middle English bismeren, Old English besmerian. See be-, smear
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It is said that elephants in India will besmear themselves with mud as a protection against insects, and that they will break branches from the trees and use them to brush away the flies.
From Ways of Nature by John Burroughs
They fashion his image of kadamb7 wood and besmear it with red lead.
From The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India Volume II by R. V. (Robert Vane) Russell
Was it honour and fair play to besmear my mother's name, to throw reflections upon my birth?
From The Day of Judgment by Joseph Hocking
Of course, you will cut your beautiful locks, besmear your cheeks, and there you are.
From Six Women and the Invasion by Gabrielle Yerta
He will as surely soil and besmear with sin your moral garments as would contact with the most filthy object imaginable your outer garments.
From Plain Facts for Old and Young by John Harvey Kellogg
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
