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bespatter

[bih-spat-er]
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verb (used with object)
  1. to soil by spattering; splash with water, dirt, etc.
  2. to slander or libel: a reputation bespattered by malicious gossip.
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Origin of bespatter

First recorded in 1635–45; be- + spatter
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

sullyreviletarnishsmeartaintdenigrateinsultdisparagemisrepresentvilifybesmirchdaubsmudgespecklemottledrenchbathesprinklesloshsoak

Examples from the Web for bespatter

Historical Examples

  • This is the nameless refuse which flings itself to bespatter Masonry.

    Devil-Worship in France

    Arthur Edward Waite

  • He expects Sir George should not bespatter him privately, in revenge, but openly.

  • The green appearance is due to lichens which bespatter them.

  • He may bespatter you with ink, he may hit you in the eye, but he writes a magnificent hand.

    Roderick Hudson

    Henry James

  • I know they are pleased to bespatter me at all their little dirty levees.

    Goldsmith

    William Black

British Dictionary definitions for bespatter

bespatter

verb (tr)
  1. to splash all over, as with dirty water
  2. to defile; slander; besmirch
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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 bespatter

v.

1640s, from be- + spatter (v.). Related: Bespattered; bespattering.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper