smudging

British

/ ˈsmʌdʒɪŋ /

noun

a traditional Native American method of using smoke from burning herbs to purify a space

"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

Example Sentences

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smudging

The two women move around the room, burning herbs and shaking shamanic rattles while singing and chanting in a purification ritual known as "smudging".

From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2025

That may not stop people from using sage or smudging it; I also have the sage I was gifted years ago by my best friend.

From Salon ● Jan. 1, 2024

This pretty kit contains mountain sage, frankincense, myrrh and white copal resin; a Selenite stick; crystals and a palo santo stick for smudging.

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 16, 2023

Researchers believe these early artists selected charcoal because it was the perfect medium, ideal for the smudging and blending techniques used in cave paintings.

From Scientific American ● Jul. 4, 2023

Inside is the Play God power-up, blue and beautiful, its swirling clouds smudging underneath my fingertips.

From "Warcross" by Marie Lu

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023