blemish
Americanverb (used with object)
-
blemishes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
blemished,
past participle, past
-
blemishing
present participle
noun
verb
Synonym Usage
See defect.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
blemishsimple
-
blemishessimple
-
have blemishedperfect
-
has blemishedperfect
-
am blemishingprogressive
-
are blemishingprogressive
-
is blemishingprogressive
-
have been blemishingperfect progressive
-
has been blemishingperfect progressive
Past
-
blemishedsimple
-
had blemishedperfect
-
was blemishingprogressive
-
were blemishingprogressive
-
had been blemishingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of blemish
1275–1325; Middle English (v.) < Anglo-French, Middle French blemiss-, long stem of ble ( s ) mir to make livid, perhaps < Old Low Franconian *blesmjan; see blaze 2
Explanation
A blemish is a small flaw. If you borrow your brother's brand new bicycle, you'd better be careful — what might seem like the tiniest blemish to you might be a horribly ruined paint job to him. The classic example of a blemish is a pimple or other mark on your skin, but you can call any small defect a blemish — like a worm hole in an apple or a scrape on the side of your car. A flaw or fault in your personality or morals can also be called a blemish. You might say that the one time your dog accidentally nipped you is the only blemish on his reputation as a sweet, gentle pet.
Vocabulary lists containing blemish
"The Landlady" by Roald Dahl
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List 6
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "B"
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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.
See Examples For:
His blemish was missing out on the really big score that would have made it impossible for the selectors to leave him out when Bethell returns.
From BBC ● Aug. 22, 2026
And in a culture so hellbent on idol worship and exhausting discourse, where every blemish is smoothed out or screamed at, “SNL” still offers us something scrappy and unvarnished.
From Salon ● Apr. 19, 2026
This ensures that a credit blemish isn’t missed.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 24, 2026
The only blemish is a silver medal finish at the Grand Prix Final.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 6, 2026
Their faces were so full of grace, so free of blemish, so perfect, that even today, even in the old black-and-white film, you can almost see the pink blush of their cheeks.
From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown
France's only blemishes were moments of overplaying, which was hardly surprising for a team that was flying and enjoying themselves.
From Barron's ● Feb. 5, 2026
But the record of 85-year-old Mutharika has its own blemishes, from corruption allegations to the debacle that ended his first presidency.
From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2025
Workers wearing rubber gloves scanned the advancing fruit, grabbing any mandarins with blemishes and dropping them into chutes to be trucked to a juice plant.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 13, 2025
In large amounts, fluoride causes unsightly blemishes on teeth, and it may even have some negative health consequences.
From Slate ● Jan. 16, 2025
My face was haggard and full of blemishes.
From "Breaking Through" by Francisco Jiménez
The city of about 35,000 has always considered itself an island of Old California, even as clogged roads and McMansions blemished the once-pristine hills.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 4, 2026
That record is blemished by his removal from an assignment based on his Francis-like tendencies, which may have had a hand in his failure to rise above the lowest of the U.S.
From Slate ● Apr. 13, 2026
We’ve developed creative ways to mitigate waste, finding secondary uses for produce that’s past its prime—whether bent, broken, bruised, blemished, or overly ripe.
From Salon ● Aug. 12, 2024
Who has time to look at tier 1 capital ratios when you’re urgently shifting your cash to a bank with a less blemished recent history?
From Washington Post ● Mar. 15, 2023
“This carpet is made of fine hand-woven unicorn hair—shed not shaven—and it will not be blemished by the likes of you!”
From "Amari and the Night Brothers" by B.B. Alston
The ruckus is blemishing what had been a successful period for Ukraine’s military, which has stopped some Russian advances and even regained a bit of territory over recent months.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 19, 2026
Senate when she died, and questions about her mental capacity shadowed her final years in office, blemishing her reputation and forcing her to repeatedly fend off calls to resign.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 29, 2023
Meanwhile, Winston passed for and NFL-leading 5,109 yards and 33 passing touchdowns with Tampa Bay in 2019 — albeit with 30 interceptions blemishing those otherwise exceptional numbers.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 29, 2021
But the defence, along with the team as a whole, improved markedly after half-time and never looked like blemishing only their second clean sheet of the season after the break.
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2016
Bless God, therefore, if he hath kept thee from blotting and blemishing of thy profession; if thy conversation has not been stained with the blots and evils of the times.
From Works of John Bunyan — Volume 02 by John Bunyan
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.
