smear

[ smeer ]

See synonyms for: smear smeared smearing on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object)

to spread or daub (an oily, greasy, viscous, or wet substance) on or over something: to smear butter on bread.
to spread or daub an oily, greasy, viscous, or wet substance on: to smear bread with butter.

to stain, spot, or make dirty with something oily, greasy, viscous, or wet.
to sully, vilify, or soil (a reputation, good name, etc.).
to smudge or blur, as by rubbing: The signature was smeared.
Slang. to defeat decisively; overwhelm: They smeared the home team.

noun

an oily, greasy, viscous, or wet substance, especially a dab of such a substance.
a stain, spot, or mark made by such a substance.

a smudge.
something smeared or to be smeared on a thing, as a glaze for pottery.
a small quantity of something spread thinly on a slide for microscopic examination.
vilification: a smear by a cheap gossip columnist.

Origin of smear

before 900; (v.) Middle English smeren, smirien to rub with fat, anoint, Old English smirian, smerian, smerwan; cognate with Dutch smeren,German schmieren,Old Norse smyrja, smyrwa; (noun) in current senses derivative of the v.; compare obsolete smear fat, grease, ointment, Middle English smere,Old English smeoru, cognate with Dutch smear,German Schmer,Old Norse smjǫr grease, Greek smýris rubbing powder; see emery

Other words from smear

smearer, noun
un·smeared, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use smear in a sentence

They successfully pressured social media companies to take a harder line against disinformation and used data-driven strategies to fight viral smears.
The Secret History of the Shadow Campaign That Saved the 2020 Election | Molly Ball | February 4, 2021 | Time
Begin with a smear of pâte di bottarga, fish roe whipped with anchovies and tuna, then sip broth fortified by pasta and potatoes.
Take a culinary journey with these new travel-inspired cookbooks | Jen Rose Smith | January 22, 2021 | Washington Post
There was no doubt that the dark red smear left on the first-floor bust of Zachary Taylor was blood.
The Breach of the Capitol Spooked Us — As It Should Have | Philip Elliott | January 7, 2021 | Time
The secretary sought to attack the woman’s credibility by saying she had a history of making baseless complaints — a false smear according to the woman and investigators.
VA Secretary Focused on Smearing Woman Who Said She Was Sexually Assaulted in a VA Hospital, Probe Finds | by Isaac Arnsdorf | December 10, 2020 | ProPublica
Bailey adds she is dismayed by the visceral tone of many copyright debates, and particularly by smears leveled at Samuelson, whose integrity she says is unimpeachable.
As libraries fight for access to e-books, a new copyright champion emerges | Jeff | November 28, 2020 | Fortune

His accuser was smeared and demeaned, and a star football player was allowed to keep on playing.
Jameis Winston Cleared of Rape Like Every Other College Sports Star | Robert Silverman | December 22, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
A militarized strike force onstage, attired in all black with faces smeared in black as though prepped for a nighttime raid.
Mexico’s Murderous SWAT Teams | Jason McGahan | November 10, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
They described him as clad in black, his face smeared with mud.
Killer Eric Frein Held in Murdered Cop’s Cuffs | Michael Daly | October 31, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
In the first, we met two muscular young men, almost naked and smeared with a blood-like substance.
Sex, Blood, and Screaming: Blackout’s Dark Frights | Tim Teeman | October 7, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
The line between author and audience has been smeared beyond all recognition.
How ‘Battlestar Galactica,’ ‘Game of Thrones,’ and FanFiction Conquered Pop Culture | Arthur Chu | May 6, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Is she the woman whose face powder was smeared on Jack Carlson's lapel?
Hooded Detective, Volume III No. 2, January, 1942 | Various
From his neck to his heels he was smeared with mud, and his tidy tunic was torn into ragged holes.
The Amazing Interlude | Mary Roberts Rinehart
You can't mix colors with any degree of certainty if the palette is smeared with all sorts of tints.
The Painter in Oil | Daniel Burleigh Parkhurst
The long war-arrow, weighted with a blazing mass of pitch-smeared 211 moss, stuck in a log a few inches below my peephole.
A Virginia Scout | Hugh Pendexter
Henry Burns was not surprised to discover that the rock was smeared all over with spots of black paint.
The Rival Campers | Ruel Perley Smith

British Dictionary definitions for smear

smear

/ (smɪə) /

verb(mainly tr)

to bedaub or cover with oil, grease, etc
to rub over or apply thickly

to rub so as to produce a smudge
to slander
US slang to defeat completely
(intr) to be or become smeared or dirtied

noun

a dirty mark or smudge
- a slanderous attack
- (as modifier): smear tactics

a preparation of blood, secretions, etc, smeared onto a glass slide for examination under a microscope

Origin of smear

Old English smeoru (n); related to Old Norse smjör fat, Old High German smero, Greek muron ointment

Derived forms of smear

smearer, noun

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

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