bedaub
Americanverb (used with object)
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to smear all over; besmear; soil.
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to ornament gaudily or excessively.
verb
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to smear all over with something thick, sticky, or dirty
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to ornament in a gaudy or vulgar fashion
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of bedaub
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.
Besmear, be-smēr′, v.t. to smear over: to bedaub: to pollute.
From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 1 of 4: A-D) by Various
To smear with any viscous, glutinous matter; to bedaub; to soil.
From Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (2nd 100 Pages) by Webster, Noah
Both Greeks and savages employ the bull-roarer, both bedaub the initiated with dirt or with white paint or chalk.
From Custom and Myth New Edition by Lang, Andrew
Demosthenes describes the mother of Æschines as a dabbler in mysteries, and tells how Æschines used to assist her by helping to bedaub the initiate with clay and bran.
From Storyology Essays in Folk-Lore, Sea-Lore, and Plant-Lore by Taylor, Benjamin
The relatives of the deceased bedaub themselves from head to foot with white clay, upon which they form the most disgusting figures, while scarcely a leg or an arm exhibits the same feature.
From Observations Upon the Windward Coast of Africa by Corry, Joseph
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
