English Explanatory Dictionary

smear

English dictionary entry

Meanings

verb
  1. To spread (a substance, especially one that colours or is dirty) across a surface by rubbing.
  2. To cover (a surface with a layer of some substance) by rubbing.
  3. To make something dirty.
  4. (of a substance, etc.) To make a surface dirty by covering it.
  5. To damage someone's reputation by slandering, misrepresenting, or otherwise making false accusations about them, their statements, or their actions.
  6. To cause (something) to be messy or not clear by rubbing and spreading it.
  7. To become messy or not clear by being spread.
  8. To write or draw (something) by spreading a substance on a surface.
  9. To cause (something) to be a particular colour by covering with a substance.
  10. To rub (a body part, etc.) across a surface.
  11. To attempt to remove (a substance) from a surface by rubbing.
  12. To climb without using footholds, using the friction from the shoe to stay on the wall.
noun
  1. A mark made by smearing.
  2. A false or unsupported, malicious statement intended to injure a person's reputation.
  3. A preparation to be examined under a microscope, made by spreading a thin layer of a substance (such as blood, bacterial culture) on a slide.
  4. A Pap smear (screening test for cervical cancer).
  5. Any of various forms of distortion that make a signal harder to see or hear.
  6. A maneuver in which the shoe is placed onto the holdless rock, and the friction from the shoe keeps it in contact
  7. A rough glissando in jazz music.

Pronunciation

smî /smɪə(ɹ)/ smîr /smiɚ/ /smɪɚ/ en-uk-smear.ogg

Word forms

smear smears smearing smeared

Etymology

From Middle English smeren, smerien, from Old English smerian, smyrian, smierwan (“to anoint or rub with grease, oil, etc.”), from Proto-West Germanic *smirwijan, from Proto-Germanic *smirwijaną. Doublet of schmear. Cognate with Saterland Frisian smeere, Dutch smeren, Low German smeren, German schmieren.

Synonyms

apply daub plaster spread bedaub coat cover layer besmirch dirty soil sully assoil beclart bedirty imbrue (especially with blood) bedizen befile befilth befoul begrime beray beshit besmear besully bewray blacken blot blur clat contaminate darken defile dirten elt file foil foul gunk gunk up inquinate scunge sling mud slotter slur smear smirch smudge smut smutch soss sowl spot stain sullow tarnish uggle badmouth defame vilify

Derived words

antismear cytosmear asmear besmear desmear nonsmearing smearable smearer smear the queer unsmeared blood smear cervical smear leap smear marrow smear Papanicolaou smear pap smear smear campaign smear case smear-case smear frame Smeargate smearless smearproof smear test smeary smirch
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