smudge

American  

[smuhj] / smʌdʒ /

noun

1. a dirty mark or smear.

2. a smeary state.

3. a stifling smoke.

4. a smoky fire, especially one made for driving away mosquitoes or safeguarding fruit trees from frost.

---

verb (used with object)

smudged, smudging

1. to mark with dirty streaks or smears.

2. to fill with smudge, as to drive away insects or protect fruit trees from frost.

verb (used without object)

smudged, smudging

1. to form a smudge on something.

2. to become smudged.

   White shoes smudge easily.

3. to smolder or smoke; emit smoke, as a smudge pot.

smudge British  

/ smʌdʒ /

verb

1. to smear, blur, or soil or cause to do so

2. (tr) to fill (an area) with smoke in order to drive insects away or guard against frost

---

noun

1. a smear or dirty mark

2. a blurred form or area

   that smudge in the distance is a quarry

3. a smoky fire for driving insects away or protecting fruit trees or plants from frost

Other Word Forms

• smudgedly adverb
• smudgeless adjective
• smudgily adverb
• unsmudged adjective

Etymology

Origin of smudge

1400–50; late Middle English smogen (v.) < ?

Example Sentences

“Superhero” riffs on those experiences, with the details obscured by what Nelson called “a lot of smudging.”

From Los Angeles Times

One woman walked wordlessly through the neighborhood, wafting a smudge stick of burning sage.

From Los Angeles Times

The stolen balloon rose quickly—too quickly, according to Faucet—and the howls of its lone passenger could no longer be heard, as the balloon shrank to a tiny smudge of rainbow in the sky.

From Literature

But those eyes were unmistakable—dark as twin smudges of pitch, dangerous as a pair of bottomless wells.

From Literature

There were leaves in her hair, rips in her stockings, and dirt smudged across both cheeks.

From Literature

Related Words

• blacken
• daub
• spatter
• sully