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View synonyms for besmear

besmear

[ bih-smeer ]

verb (used with object)

  1. to smear all over; bedaub.
  2. to sully; defile; soil:

    to besmear someone's reputation.



besmear

/ bɪˈsmɪə /

verb

  1. to smear over; daub
  2. to sully; defile (often in the phrase besmear ( a person's ) reputation )
“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


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Other Words From

  • be·smearer noun
  • unbe·smeared adjective
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Word History and Origins

Origin of besmear1

before 1050; Middle English bismeren, Old English besmerian. See be-, smear
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Example Sentences

His intensity of loathing leads him to besmear his antagonists with filth.

Was it honour and fair play to besmear my mother's name, to throw reflections upon my birth?

They fashion his image of kadamb7 wood and besmear it with red lead.

Madame Boche, in her turn, caught sight of Lantier and uttered a faint cry without ceasing to besmear her face with her tears.

The reverse of besmear is to rub off; hence to obliterate means to rub out, to erase.

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