smudge
[smuhj]
|
noun
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.
Origin of smudge
1400–50; late Middle English smogen (v.) < ?
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Related Words for smudging
blot, blemish, daub, sully, blacken, spatter, spot, smut, smutch, blur, macule, defile, smirch, slop, soil, plaster, grime, blotch, taint, foulExamples from the Web for smudging
Contemporary Examples of smudging
Historical Examples of smudging
This blotting, this smudging, is very slight, but it exists; it is always there.
John CaldigateAnthony Trollope
Windbreaks as often favor the frost as the vine, and smudging or heating the vineyards is too expensive to be practical.
Manual of American Grape-GrowingU. P. Hedrick
Smudging is too expensive for the extensive system of peach-orcharding practiced in the East.
The Peaches of New YorkU. P. Hedrick
Hundreds of votive candles blaze and smoke in the grotto, smudging the whole with nasty soot.
Winged Wheels in FranceMichael Myers Shoemaker
It was as though a hand had been passed over the picture, smudging the outlines and rendering the whole thing of dubious value.
AliensWilliam McFee
smudging
noun
smudge
verb
noun
Word Origin for smudge
C15: of uncertain origin
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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smudge
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper