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blear

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blear¹

  • /blɪə/ Australia, UK
  • /ˈblɪː/ British, Southern, Standard
  • /ˈblɪjə/ British, Southern, Standard
  • /blɪɹ/ US
  • /bliə/ New Zealand
  • /bliɾ/ Scotland
  • [bliˌɾ] Scotland
  • /blɛː/

Sounds like blare (cheer–chair merger), Blair (cheer–chair merger) · Rhymes with -ɪə(ɹ)

Where it comes from

From Middle English blere, related to Low German bleeroged (“bleareyed”), Middle High German blerre (“double vision”), German Blerre (“double vision”). Perhaps also related to blur.

adjective more blear · most blear · bleer

  1. of eyes or vision Dim; unclear from water or rheum. A Promontory Wen, with grieſly grace, Stood high, upon the Handle of his Face: His blear Eyes ran in gutters to his Chin: His Beard was stubble, and his Cheeks were thin.
  2. Causing or caused by dimness of sight. Thus I hurle My dazling spells into the ſpungie aire Of power to cheate the eye with bleare illuſion, And give it falſe preſentments, […]

blear²

  • /blɪə/ Australia, UK
  • /ˈblɪː/ British, Southern, Standard
  • /ˈblɪjə/ British, Southern, Standard
  • /blɪɹ/ US
  • /bliə/ New Zealand
  • /bliɾ/ Scotland
  • [bliˌɾ] Scotland
  • /blɛː/

Sounds like blare (cheer–chair merger), Blair (cheer–chair merger) · Rhymes with -ɪə(ɹ)

Where it comes from

From Middle English bleren, from Old English *blerian.

verb blears · blearing · bleared · bleer

  1. intransitive To be blear; to have blear eyes; to look or gaze with blear eyes. 18th c., attributed to Jonathan Swift, “The Story of Orpheus, Burlesqued,” in Walter Scott (ed.), The Works of Jonathan Swift, Boston: Houghton, Mifflin & Co., 2nd edition, 1883, Volume 10, p. 403, Orpheus, a one-eyed blearing Thracian, The crowder of that barb’rous nation, Was ballad-singer by voca
  2. transitive To make (usually the eyes or eyesight) blurred or dim. your ſelf you cannot ſo diſguiſe:
  3. transitive, of an image To blur, make blurry. When winter blears bleakly the forest, And the water binds gray to its blue, Safe and sound in her covert I leave her, Till spring calls again my canoe.

blear³

  • /blɪə/ Australia, UK
  • /ˈblɪː/ British, Southern, Standard
  • /ˈblɪjə/ British, Southern, Standard
  • /blɪɹ/ US
  • /bliə/ New Zealand
  • /bliɾ/ Scotland
  • [bliˌɾ] Scotland
  • /blɛː/

Sounds like blare (cheer–chair merger), Blair (cheer–chair merger) · Rhymes with -ɪə(ɹ)

Where it comes from

From Middle English bleren, from Old English *blǣran, related to West Frisian blearje (“to bleat, shout”), Dutch bleren, blaren (“to bellow, bleat”), German Low German blaren, blarren (“to blare, howl, shriek”), German plärren (“to howl, shriek, blare”).

verb blears · blearing · bleared · bleer

  1. alternative Alternative form of blare

Translations

Every language

verb make blurred or dim

Русскийзатума́нивать zatumánivatʹ

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Cite this
MLA

"blear." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/blear. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

blear. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/blear

Chicago

"blear." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/blear.

BibTeX
@misc{blear_2026,
  title = {blear},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/blear},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}