mar
verb (used with object)
to damage or spoil to a certain extent; render less perfect, attractive, useful, etc.; impair or spoil.
mar
1 American
[mahr]
/ mɑr /
verb (used with object)
-
mars,
present (3rd person singular)
-
marred,
past participle, past
-
marring
present participle
-
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.
mar.
2
American
abbreviation
-
maritime.
-
married.
Mar.
3
American
abbreviation
M.A.R.
4
American
abbreviation
mar
1
British
/ mɑː /
verb
noun
Mar
2
British
abbreviation
Usage
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.
Synonym Usage
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.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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marsimple
-
marssimple
-
have marredperfect
-
has marredperfect
-
am marringprogressive
-
are marringprogressive
-
is marringprogressive
-
have been marringperfect progressive
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has been marringperfect progressive
Past
-
marredsimple
-
had marredperfect
-
was marringprogressive
-
were marringprogressive
-
had been marringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of mar
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”
Explanation
A mar is a flaw, mark, or blemish, like a deep scratch on a wooden table. As a verb, to mar is to make such an imperfection — like the pen mark that mars your crisp, white shirt. We often think of things that mar as immediately noticeable, like scratches, scars, and blemishes, but sometimes mar describes other ways of ruining something. For example, an unexpected run-in with a difficult person can mar your relaxing day at the beach, just as an unpleasant memory can mar a peaceful state of mind. The thing to remember is, it only takes one scratch, one mean comment, or one negative experience to mar something that is otherwise fine.
Vocabulary lists containing mar
ASVAB Word Knowledge
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"Romeo and Juliet" by William Shakespeare, Act II
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"Macbeth" Vocabulary from Act V
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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:
On the other hand, he is heavily invested in the tournament's success – and may take special efforts to avoid the kind of diplomatic incidents that could mar proceedings.
From BBC ● Jun. 4, 2026
Gilded fixtures, trim and ornamentation — rumored to be from Home Depot — mar the walls.
From Salon ● Jan. 4, 2026
Unless the adviser followed all compliance protocols and properly documented all client communication regarding past trades and financial transactions, the dispute can mar their record.
From MarketWatch ● Dec. 12, 2025
Potatoes need to be plucked from the ground and handled with care to prevent browning that can mar otherwise perfect chips.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2025
He was breathing hard and nowhere mar the cobhouse.
From "A Long Way from Chicago" by Richard Peck
The forests come down nearly to the beach, which is covered with thickets of mangroves, avicennias, manchineel-trees, and that species of suriana which the natives call romero de la mar.*
From Personal Narrative of Travels to the Equinoctial Regions of America, During the Year 1799-1804 — Volume 1 by Thomasina Ross
VIII., is this singular entry:—"Robarde Holte of Stubley, hase mar. an ould woman, by whom he hase none issewe, and therefore he wolde not have her name entryed."
From Traditions of Lancashire, Volume 2 by John Roby
Their most notable prediction came on April 21, 2024, in Del Mar. During a maintenance visit earlier that month, researchers had observed a tiny new crack in the clifftop that was about 0.1 inch wide.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026
That is much larger than the firm’s disclosed portfolio of publicly traded stocks, which totaled about $4.7 billion as of Mar. 31.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 18, 2026
Coming into Monday trading, shares were down more than 40% since the company reported results on Mar. 24.
From Barron's ● Mar. 30, 2026
Currently, Paul’s season of “The Bachelorette” premieres Sunday, Mar. 22, on ABC, while the fourth season of “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” is already streaming on Hulu.
From Salon ● Mar. 20, 2026
Then she packs her grandson’s clothing and threatens to take him to Santa Teresa del Mar. Felicia remains quiet.
From "Dreaming in Cuban" by Cristina García
Indeid M.A.R. spak with me fowr or fywe dayis syn, and I hew promised his Lo. ane answar within ten dayis at farrest.
From James VI and the Gowrie Mystery by Andrew Lang
Ye knaw the kingis hwnting vill be schortly, and than sall be best tyme, as M.A.R. has asswred me, that my Lo. has resolved to interpryse that matter.
From James VI and the Gowrie Mystery by Andrew Lang
Mahender Makhijani, 44, of Corona del Mar, accused of defrauding an Arizona bank of nearly $100 million, was denied bail Monday after a multiday hearing sought by federal prosecutors.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026
Researchers from Oregon State University estimate 69,000 buildings were damaged or destroyed in Venezuela’s beachside communities like those in Catia La Mar, a 45-minute drive from Caracas in the devastated coastal state of La Guaira.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 19, 2026
Rispoli, the leading jockey at last fall’s Del Mar meeting, has had his own rough stretch, missing five months of action after breaking his right ankle and leg in a January spill at Gulfstream Park.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026
In 1984, 20 people died in a fire on the Canary Island of La Gomera, while in 1979, 21 people, including nine children, died in a forest fire near Lloret de Mar in north-eastern Spain.
From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026
It is 7:43 A.M. and she has made the seventeen-mile journey from Havana to Santa Teresa del Mar in thirty-four minutes.
From "Dreaming in Cuban" by Cristina García
Americans hated the laws, all but one of which was repealed under Adams’s successor, Thomas Jefferson, and the whole episode mars the second president’s otherwise splendid reputation.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 8, 2026
And despite already being a sap, I was extra fortunate to find director Guan Hu’s Chinese drama almost completely free of the sentiment that mars most animal movies.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 25, 2024
And it’s not just in the setup — evasion mars this memoir throughout.
From New York Times ● Mar. 28, 2023
It really mars what is otherwise a striking finish.
From The Verge ● Jul. 14, 2022
Occasionally, a twitch of his hand or arm mars what he is doing, but in a little while he is able to twist off a section of the dough and fashion it into a roll.
From "Flowers for Algernon" by Daniel Keyes
International observers of Zambia's elections said Saturday the poll was marred by claims of intimidation, abductions and an hours-long pause in the vote count.
From Barron's ● Aug. 15, 2026
Protesters have been pushing for the resignation of India’s education minister, Dharmendra Pradhan, after this year’s undergraduate medical-school entrance exam was marred by allegations of cheating.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 25, 2026
The public mourning has, however, been marred by the renewed hostilities with the US.
From BBC ● Jul. 9, 2026
Authorities are deeply aware of the risk of crowd crushes, which have marred similar events in the past, with TV broadcasting guidelines on how to stay safe.
From Barron's ● Jul. 3, 2026
A small wrinkle of concern marred her usually placid forehead.
From "The Witch of Blackbird Pond" by Elizabeth George Speare
Heavy, acrid smoke blanketed the eastern United States on Saturday, marring preparations for the weekend's highly awaited World Cup final to be held in an open stadium in New Jersey.
From Barron's ● Jul. 18, 2026
On Tuesday, Scott retired three of the four batters he faced, with only a well-placed single through the right side of the field — a “soft-serve hit, as Roberts put it” — marring the outing.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 3, 2026
A cycle of ephemeral emperors, military mutinies and civil wars had begun, marring Rome’s third century.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 19, 2026
Sandisk’s stock is off fractionally on Tuesday, with the report hardly marring the first anniversary of the split.
From MarketWatch ● Feb. 24, 2026
“Perhaps it was caused by the painful tooth. To some extent the marring effects of Watergate may have played a part.”
From "Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War" by Steve Sheinkin
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.
