bedaub

[bih-dawb]

See more synonyms for bedaub on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object)

to smear all over; besmear; soil.
to ornament gaudily or excessively.

Origin of bedaub

First recorded in 1545–55; be- + daub

Related formsun·be·daubed, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for bedaub

sully, smirch, anoint, soil, smudge, daub, spread, besmear, stain

Examples from the Web for bedaub

Historical Examples of bedaub

With this paste the natives delighted to bedaub their faces.
The Works of Hubert Howe Bancroft, Volume 2
Hubert Howe Bancroft
The men paint or bedaub their faces and breasts with a kind of red earth.
The Captive in Patagonia
Benjamin Franklin Bourne
Against which he prepares to bedaub him, and swears he will do it from the beginning, from Jersey to this day.
Diary of Samuel Pepys, Complete
Samuel Pepys
Whan a man's shoe is blackened and bedaub'd with industry, it will procure him such a supply as will make him cheerful.
The Proverbs of Scotland
Alexander Hislop

British Dictionary definitions for bedaub

bedaub

verb (tr)

to smear all over with something thick, sticky, or dirty
to ornament in a gaudy or vulgar fashion

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

Word Origin and History for bedaub

1550s, from be- + daub (v). Related: Bedaubed; bedaubing.