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
Does any one bedaub his friends with flattery?
From The Deipnosophists, or Banquet of the Learned of Athen?us by Athen?us
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 Benjamin Taylor
Both Greeks and savages employ the bull-roarer, both bedaub the initiated with dirt or with white paint or chalk.
From Custom and Myth by Andrew Lang
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 Andrew Lang
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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.
