mar

¹

[mahr]

verb (used with object)

marred, marring 

1. 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.

   Synonyms: blot, injure, flaw
   Antonyms: adorn, enhance

2. to disfigure, deface, or scar.

   The scratch marred the table.

   Synonyms: blot, injure, flaw
   Antonyms: adorn, enhance

mar.

²

abbreviation

1. maritime.

2. married.

Mar.

³

abbreviation

1. March.

M.A.R.

⁴

abbreviation

1. Master of Arts in Religion.

mar

¹

/ mɑː /

verb

1. (tr) to cause harm to; spoil or impair

noun

1. a disfiguring mark; blemish

Mar

²

abbreviation

1. March

Other Word Forms

• unmarring adjective
• marrer noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of mar¹

First recorded 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”

Word History and Origins

Origin of mar¹

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

Synonym Study

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.

Example Sentences

Graffiti also marred a section of the wall with two RFK quotes: “I believe that we must build an America devoted to the ways of conciliation and peace.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The dignity of Beowulf’s bow was marred by the appearance of Shantaloo, who had emerged from the shadows and now rubbed against his leg in a ticklish fashion.

Read more on Literature

The annual demonstration traditionally passes in front of the US embassy to protest Washington's support for the dictatorship, and is frequently marred by clashes between youths and riot police.

Read more on Barron's

Alas, “The Killing Age” is too marred by error and exaggeration to fulfill its promise.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Al-Sharaa's rule, however, has been marred by killings of members of Syria's Alawite minority, as well as by deadly violence between Sunni Bedouin fighters and Druze militias.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• blight 
• bruise 
• harm 
• impair 
• ruin 
• scar 
• spoil 
• stain 
• sully 
• taint 
• tarnish 
• wreck 

When To Use

What does mar mean?

To mar something is to damage, spoil, deface, disfigure, or scar it—either literally (such as by scratching or making a mark on an object) or figuratively (such as by spoiling a party by getting into an argument).Mar is used somewhat more formally than many of its synonyms. Whether used literally or figuratively, it always refers to spoiling something by making it worse or less perfect than it was. Its figurative sense is more often used in writing (especially journalism) than in everyday speech. Mar can also be used as a noun, meaning a blemish, but this is less common.Example: The senator’s campaign event was unfortunately marred by people who wanted to disrupt the event by interrupting her speech.