blur

American  

[blur] / blɜr /

verb (used with object)

• blurs,
  present (3rd person singular)
• blurred,
  past participle,  past
• blurring
  present participle

1. to obscure or sully (something) by smearing or with a smeary substance.

   The windows were blurred with soot.

2. to obscure by making confused in form or outline; make indistinct.

   The fog blurred the outline of the car.

   Synonyms:

   mask, veil, darken, dim, cloud

3. to dim the perception or susceptibility of; make dull or insensible.

   The blow on the head blurred his senses.

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verb (used without object)

• blurs,
  present (3rd person singular)
• blurred,
  past participle,  past
• blurring
  present participle

1. to become indistinct.

   Everything blurred as she ran.

2. to make blurs.

noun

• blurs
  plural

1. a smudge or smear that obscures.

   a blur of smoke.

2. a blurred condition; indistinctness.

   They could see nothing in the foggy blur.

3. something seen indistinctly.

   The ship appeared as a blur against the horizon.

blur British  

/ blɜː /

verb

1. to make or become vague or less distinct

   heat haze blurs the hills

   education blurs class distinctions

2. to smear or smudge

3. (tr) to make (the judgment, memory, or perception) less clear; dim

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noun

1. something vague, hazy, or indistinct

2. a smear or smudge

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• blurredness
  noun
• blurriness
  noun
• blurred
  adjective
• blurry
  adjective
• unblurred
  adjective
• blurredly
  adverb
• blurringly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• blurs
  plural

Participles

• blurring
  present
• blurred
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• blur
  simple
• blurs
  simple
• have blurred
  perfect
• has blurred
  perfect
• am blurring
  progressive
• are blurring
  progressive
• is blurring
  progressive
• have been blurring
  perfect progressive
• has been blurring
  perfect progressive

Past

• blurred
  simple
• had blurred
  perfect
• was blurring
  progressive
• were blurring
  progressive
• had been blurring
  perfect progressive

Future

• will blur
  simple
• will have blurred
  perfect
• will be blurring
  progressive
• will have been blurring
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of blur

First recorded in 1540–50; akin to blear

Explanation

To blur is to make or become unfocused and fuzzy. Crying hard can cause your vision to blur until you wipe your tears away. Heavy smog or early morning fog can blur your view of the city, and two candidates' similar views can blur the differences between their political parties. In both cases, things become indistinct and hazy. You can also call the haze itself a blur: "The whole day was just a blur after the exciting news I got in the morning." In the 16th century, blur meant "smear on the surface of writing."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

blur blurs blurred blurring

Most street performers rely on voluntary payments, but experts say the line between performing for money and begging can blur.

From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2026

Looking back on the competition, he said the experience passed in a blur.

From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2026

But innovation will remain a hard sell so long as users remain entranced by the big blur, where art becomes media, media becomes content, and content becomes time tossed into the wind.

From Salon ● Aug. 27, 2026

She says she may need to blur them for the movie.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026

A furry blur had leapt onto my desk and plopped down right onto my tablet.

From "Sir Fig Newton and the Science of Persistence" by Sonja Thomas

As his latest book ‘The Radiance’ blurs the lines between memory and invention, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author makes a compelling case for why literature remains our richest record of human consciousness.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2026

Fielder, whose brand of cringe comedy blurs the line between fiction and reality in “Nathan for You” and “The Rehearsal,” is making the jump from TV to his feature directorial debut.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 2026

“A carefully curated palette of wood, stone, water, and light blurs the boundaries between indoors and out, creating an atmosphere of serenity and effortless connection to the landscape.”

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 14, 2026

The threshold redraws itself each time public attention blurs.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 28, 2026

I looked in the mirror at our reflection, at the twelve girls, sleek and shiny, pirouetting blurs of black, white and pink.

From "Educated" by Tara Westover

Signs of a stroke include a sudden intense headache, confusion, trouble speaking, loss of balance, face drooping, sudden blurred vision and more.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026

The line between art and commerce has blurred so much that people unintentionally conflate all visual media with advertising — if they can’t see themselves in it, they’re not buying it.

From Salon ● Sep. 23, 2026

The video even featured images of former presidential aide Andriy Yermak and parliamentary faction leader David Arakhamia, alongside blurred photographs of other figures within Zelensky's entourage.

From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 2026

“I admit my guilt and promise that this won’t happen again,” said the woman, whose face was blurred and who wasn’t named by police.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026

The last thing she saw, through her tunneled view, was Ekon’s blurred silhouette as he marched away.

From "Beasts of Prey" by Ayana Gray

In addition, AI is blurring boundaries between the company’s products and reshaping its business models, Nadella said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026

While effective at drawing attention, they may have the unwanted effect of making viewers uncomfortable by blurring the lines of reality — even if the AI use is disclosed.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026

Across YouTube videos, video games, VR experiences and TikTok edits, audiences are located inside the environment itself blurring the boundaries between storytelling, role-playing, tourism and online participation.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 26, 2026

That was why Xi kept leaning on the state sector as the centerpiece of his economic model, Gao said, and why the line between state and private kept blurring rather than sharpening.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026

She whipped it back and forth past the dark columns of tree trunks, shooting through them at top speed, so fast that her hands and face collected dozens of scratches from the branches blurring by.

From "Uglies" by Scott Westerfeld

Related Words

• darken
• dim
• muddy
• obscure
• soften