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

All I know is that I am watching Theo and he doesn’t realize it, and he reaches up to brush a hand—smudged with graphite, precise architect hands—across his cheek.

From Literature

"Intensity mapping is like viewing the same scene through a smudged plane window: you get a blurrier picture, but you capture all the light and not just the brightest spots."

From Science Daily

I tried lighting a smudge in a tin can in the middle of the canoe as I paddled—which worked for mosquitoes—but it didn’t bother the flies at all.

From Literature

Her dress is loose on her, her hair is thin and wispy, her lipstick slightly smudged.

From Literature

The Mallons’ house was a black smudge in the fog, the stone walls sleeping, the worn path quiet as we tiptoed over it.

From Literature

Related Words

• blacken
• daub
• spatter
• sully