mar

[ mahr ]

/ mɑr /

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verb (used with object), marred, mar·ring.

to damage or spoil to a certain extent; render less perfect, attractive, useful, etc.; impair or spoil: That billboard mars the view. The holiday was marred by bad weather.

to disfigure, deface, or scar: The scratch marred the table.

Nearby words

maquiladora, maquiladoras, maquillage, maquis, maquisard, mar, mar del plata, mar-hawk, mar., mar.e., mar.mech.e.

Origin of mar

before 900; Middle English merren, Old English merran to hinder, waste; cognate with Old Saxon merrian, Old High German merren to hinder, Old Norse merja to bruise, Gothic marzjan to offend

SYNONYMS FOR mar

1, 2 flaw, injure; blot. Mar, deface, disfigure, deform agree in applying to some form of injury. Mar is general, but usually refers to an external or surface injury, if it is a physical one: The tabletop was marred by dents and scratches. Deface refers to a surface injury that may be temporary or easily repaired: a tablecloth defaced by penciled notations. Disfigure applies to external injury of a more permanent and serious kind: A birthmark disfigured one side of his face. Deform suggests that something has been distorted or internally injured so severely as to change its normal form or qualities, or else that some fault has interfered with its proper development: deformed by an accident that had crippled him; to deform feet by binding them.

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ANTONYMS FOR mar

1, 2 enhance, adorn.

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Related formsun·marred, adjectiveun·mar·ring, adjective

Definition for mar (2 of 4)

mar.

maritime.

married.

Definition for mar (3 of 4)

Mar.

March.

Definition for mar (4 of 4)

M.A.R.

Master of Arts in Religion.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for mar

A steel bracelet on my wrists reads CPL BRIAN L. CHEVALIER - 14 MAR 2007 – DIYALA.
Memorial Days After Mourning Has Passed|Alex Horton|May 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Pujol was offering a choice of tasting menus that evening: Mar (Surf) or Tierra (Turf).
Mexico City’s Magical Moment of Resurgence|Condé Nast Traveler|February 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Decor426 Mar 8, 2008 I am in the same position as both of you.
Dad Just Moved In and He's Driving Me Insane|The Daily Beast|October 25, 2008|DAILY BEAST
Sir Anthony, the third baronet, took after his great-grandfather and dreamed of sailing north to help the Earl of Mar in 1715.
The Vanity Girl|Compton Mackenzie

Courtship is such a delightful occupation for the young, that it seems a pity to mar it by bringing in questions of health.
Homo-culture|Martin Luther Holbrook
The journey was uneventful, no delays or accidents occurring to mar it.
The White Crystals|Howard R. Garis
The Earl of Mar therefore appeared as the champion of the Cavaliers, and for the first time won their confidence and approbation.
Memoirs of the Jacobites of 1715 and 1745.|Mrs. Thomson
It would be wicked, and bring upon her Heaven's just wrath, if she did aught to mar the peace of a happy family.
Mrs Whittelsey's Magazine for Mothers and Daughters|Various

British Dictionary definitions for mar (1 of 2)

mar

/ (mɑː) /

verb mars, marring or marred

(tr) to cause harm to; spoil or impair

noun

a disfiguring mark; blemish

Derived Formsmarrer, noun

Word Origin for mar

Old English merran; compare Old Saxon merrian to hinder, Old Norse merja to bruise

British Dictionary definitions for mar (2 of 2)

Mar

abbreviation for

March

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 mar

mar

Old English merran (Anglian), mierran (West Saxon) "to waste, spoil," from Proto-Germanic *marzjan (cf. Old Frisian meria, Old High German marren "to hinder, obstruct," Gothic marzjan "to hinder, offend"), from PIE root *mers- "to trouble, confuse" (cf. Sanskrit mrsyate "forgets, neglects," Lithuanian mirszati "to forget"). Related: Marred; marring.

mar