smudge

[ smuhj ]

/ smʌdʒ /

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.

Words nearby smudge

smriti, sms, smsa, smsgt, smtp, smudge, smudge pot, smudging, smudgy, smug, smuggery

Origin of smudge

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

OTHER WORDS FROM smudge

smudg·ed·ly, adverbsmudge·less, adjectiveun·smudged, adjective

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

Examples from the Web for smudging

I like taking that old Hollywood idea and putting rock and roll on top of it and messing it up and smudging it.
Evan Rachel Wood Grows Up|Rachel Syme|June 16, 2009|DAILY BEAST
The dropped cigarette stump lay where it had fallen, smudging and smelling.
The Portygee|Joseph Crosby Lincoln
The streak of something slovenly crept into the nobility, smudging it, so to speak, with a blur.
The Bright Messenger|Algernon Blackwood
The pale rose of sunrise is smudging over the last flickerings of the grey night.
Cavalry of the Clouds|Alan Bott

Nevertheless, the assassin was quite equal to smudging out the detectives, believe me, Sir Walter.
The Grey Room|Eden Phillpotts
The more you put on, the more your smudge rebels against its proper task of smudging.
Fisherman's Luck|Henry van Dyke

British Dictionary definitions for smudging (1 of 2)

smudging

/ (ˈsmʌdʒɪŋ) /

noun

a traditional Native American method of using smoke from burning herbs to purify a space

British Dictionary definitions for smudging (2 of 2)

smudge

/ (smʌdʒ) /

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 forms of smudge

smudgeless, 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

smudge

noun

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

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

Content related to smudge

Words related to smudge

Words nearby smudge

Origin of smudge

OTHER WORDS FROM smudge

Examples from the Web for smudging

British Dictionary definitions for smudging (1 of 2)

noun

British Dictionary definitions for smudging (2 of 2)

verb

noun

Derived forms of smudge

Word Origin for smudge