blur
Americanverb (used with object)
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to obscure or sully (something) by smearing or with a smeary substance.
The windows were blurred with soot.
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to obscure by making confused in form or outline; make indistinct.
The fog blurred the outline of the car.
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to dim the perception or susceptibility of; make dull or insensible.
The blow on the head blurred his senses.
verb (used without object)
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to become indistinct.
Everything blurred as she ran.
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to make blurs.
noun
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a smudge or smear that obscures.
a blur of smoke.
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a blurred condition; indistinctness.
They could see nothing in the foggy blur.
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something seen indistinctly.
The ship appeared as a blur against the horizon.
verb
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to make or become vague or less distinct
heat haze blurs the hills
education blurs class distinctions
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to smear or smudge
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(tr) to make (the judgment, memory, or perception) less clear; dim
noun
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something vague, hazy, or indistinct
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a smear or smudge
Other Word Forms
- blurred adjective
- blurredly adverb
- blurredness noun
- blurriness noun
- blurringly adverb
- blurry adjective
- unblurred adjective
Etymology
Origin of blur
First recorded in 1540–50; akin to blear
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.
There he was, rushing down a mountainside, with the whole world blurring around him.
From Literature
A pixie flew in my face, a blur of pink hair and translucent wings.
From Literature
In a sense, these products blur the lines between investing and gambling.
From MarketWatch
It’s about flights that blur the line between official duty and personal indulgence.
From Salon
A young boy wearing short pants and a baseball cap stands in overgrown grass looking at the empty frame from which—amazingly—a blurred figure is descending.
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.
