smudge

[smuhj]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR smudge ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a dirty mark or smear.

a smeary state.

a stifling smoke.

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

verb (used with object), smudged, smudg·ing.

to mark with dirty streaks or smears.

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

verb (used without object), smudged, smudg·ing.

to form a smudge on something.

to become smudged: White shoes smudge easily.

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

Origin of smudge

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

Related formssmudg·ed·ly, adverbsmudge·less, adjectiveun·smudged, adjective

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

Related Words for smudge

blot, blemish, daub, sully, blacken, spatter, spot, smut, smutch, blur, macule, defile, smirch, slop, soil, plaster, grime, blotch, taint, foul

Examples from the Web for smudge

Contemporary Examples of smudge

What happened with Broadwell will be seen as a smudge on his record.
Like Jill Kelley, Paula Broadwell Eyes Comeback After Petraeus Scandal
Howard Kurtz
January 23, 2013

Historical Examples of smudge

Such is the story of the hole which you have marked, and of the smudge upon the wood.
The White Company
Arthur Conan Doyle
Ahead, he could see the smudge of the Black Fleet's smoke on the horizon.
Raiders Invisible
Desmond Winter Hall
And to-day "the smudge" has grown more than ever ineffective.
Women's Wild Oats
C. Gasquoine Hartley
"Come to council," I sent up, while they helped to keep the smudge thick.
Pluck on the Long Trail
Edwin L. Sabin
“What a shame,” he said, as it fell on his letter, and made a smudge.
Eric, or Little by Little
Frederic W. Farrar

British Dictionary definitions for smudge

smudge

verb

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

(tr) mainly US and Canadian to fill (an area) with smoke in order to drive insects away or guard against frost

noun

a smear or dirty mark

a blurred form or areathat smudge in the distance is a quarry

mainly US and Canadian a smoky fire for driving insects away or protecting fruit trees or plants from frost

Derived Formssmudgeless, adjectivesmudgily or smudgedly, adverb

Word Origin for smudge

C15: of uncertain origin

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 smudge

early 15c., smogen "to soil, stain, blacken," of obscure origin. Related: Smudged; smudging. Meaning "make a smoky fire" is from 1860, hence smudge-pot (1903). The noun meaning "a stain, spot, smear" is first attested 1768, from the verb.