smudgy

American  

[smuhj-ee] / ˈsmʌdʒ i /

adjective

smudgier, smudgiest

1. marked with smudges; smeared; smeary.

2. emitting a stifling smoke; smoky.

3. British Dialect. humid; sweltering; sultry.

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smudgy British  

/ smʌdʒɪ /

adjective

1. smeared, blurred, or soiled, or likely to become so

2. made deliberately indistinct or cloudy

   smudgy colours

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Other Word Forms

• smudginess
  noun
• smudgily
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of smudgy

First recorded in 1840–50; smudge + -y ¹

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

smudgy smudgier smudgiest

Pugh, with her droll line readings and smudgy blue eyeliner, plays apathy better than anyone; she’s compelling even with all the passion drained from her body.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 1, 2025

The aqueous picture, whose smudgy core mingles brown and deep green, memorializes the Lenape natives who once settled the harbor area, and also invokes the recent birth of the painter’s child.

From Washington Post ● Sep. 1, 2022

Now performing as Snoh Aalegra, she has settled into a mellower R&B sound better suited to her voice — a smudgy, reserved yet emotive alto that Prince, who mentored her, praised for its “analog” appeal.

From New York Times ● Mar. 24, 2022

Instead of coming with the same shiny, instantly smudgy stainless steel case as Master & Dynamic’s previous earbuds, these include a redesigned case made from woven Kevlar fiber.

From The Verge ● Jul. 27, 2021

I told her it was just a pigeon, but she denied it, holding up the smudgy Xerox as proof.

From "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris

A cloud no larger and smudgier than a high-school boy's hand had dropped its first shadow between them.

From Star-Dust by Hurst, Fannie

I can spot the smudgiest bus and the most hidden car with ease.

From The Verge ● May 23, 2021