mar

¹ American  

[mahr] / mɑr /

verb (used with object)

marred, marring

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.

   Synonyms:

   blot, injure, flaw

   Antonyms:

   adorn, enhance

2. to disfigure, deface, or scar.

   The scratch marred the table.

   Synonyms:

   blot, injure, flaw

   Antonyms:

   adorn, enhance

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mar. ² American  

abbreviation

1. maritime.

2. married.

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Mar. ³ American  

abbreviation

1. March.

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M.A.R. ⁴ American  

abbreviation

1. Master of Arts in Religion.

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mar ¹ British  

/ mɑː /

verb

1. (tr) to cause harm to; spoil or impair

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noun

1. a disfiguring mark; blemish

Mar ² British  

abbreviation

1. March

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Usage

What does mar mean? To mar something is to damage, spoil, deface, disfigure, or scar it—either literally (such as by scratching or making a mark on an object) or figuratively (such as by spoiling a party by getting into an argument).Mar is used somewhat more formally than many of its synonyms. Whether used literally or figuratively, it always refers to spoiling something by making it worse or less perfect than it was. Its figurative sense is more often used in writing (especially journalism) than in everyday speech. Mar can also be used as a noun, meaning a blemish, but this is less common.Example: The senator’s campaign event was unfortunately marred by people who wanted to disrupt the event by interrupting her speech.

Related Words

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 Word Forms

• marrer noun
• unmarring adjective

Etymology

Origin of mar

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”

Example Sentences

However, the busiest travel day in U.S. aviation history was marred by wintry weather disruption at airports across the country.

From Barron's

There aren’t many photos from my parents’ childhood in Vietnam, and this snapshot of my dad was marred by a scratch.

From The Wall Street Journal

Anduril’s only real battlefield experience—in Ukraine—has been marred by problems as well, including vulnerability to enemy jamming, according to former employees and others familiar with the systems in Ukraine.

From The Wall Street Journal

Behind the scenes, the rollout was marred by a headache.

From The Wall Street Journal

India's previous hosting of the Commonwealth Games, in New Delhi in 2010, was marred by delays and corruption allegations.

From Barron's

Related Words

• blight
• bruise
• harm
• impair
• ruin
• scar
• spoil
• stain
• sully
• taint
• tarnish
• wreck