smear
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smear
- /smɪə(ɹ)/ UK
- /smiɚ/ US
- /smɪɚ/ US
Rhymes with -ɪə(ɹ)
Where it comes from
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 (“to smear, lubricate”), Low German smeren, German schmieren (“to smear, lubricate”), Danish and Norwegian Bokmål smøre (“to lubricate”), Norwegian Nynorsk smørja (“to lubricate”), Swedish smörja (“to grease”), Faroese and Icelandic smyrja.
verb smears · smearing · smeared
- To spread (a substance, especially one that colours or is dirty) across a surface by rubbing. The artist smeared paint over the canvas in broad strokes.
- To cover (a surface with a layer of some substance) by rubbing. She smeared her lips with lipstick.
-
To make something dirty.
A man may bee smeared or grimed, and euerie man shall laugh at him, and yet he himselfe shall not perceiue it a whit.
Similar: besmirch, dirty, soil, sully, assoil, beclart, bedaub, bedirty, imbrue (especially with blood), bedizen, befile, befilth
- (of a substance, etc.) To make a surface dirty by covering it. a pallor which was accentuated by the blood which smeared her lips and cheeks and chin
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To damage someone's reputation by slandering, misrepresenting, or otherwise making false accusations about them, their statements, or their actions.
The opposition party attempted to smear the candidate by spreading incorrect and unverifiable rumors about their personal behavior.
Similar: badmouth, besmirch, defame, sully, vilify, assassinate, asperse, backbite, befoul, belibel, besmear, bewray
- To cause (something) to be messy or not clear by rubbing and spreading it. When she had entered two or three laborious items in the account-book, Jip would walk over the page, wagging his tail, and smear them all out.
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To become messy or not clear by being spread.
The paint is still wet — don't touch it or it will smear.
Similar: smudge
- To write or draw (something) by spreading a substance on a surface. ciphers smeared on the windows of condemned shops
- To cause (something) to be a particular colour by covering with a substance. small wooden dolls smeared red as though with blood
- To rub (a body part, etc.) across a surface. […] he smeared his ragged rough sleeve over his eyes.
- To attempt to remove (a substance) from a surface by rubbing. He had […] a dirty belcher handkerchief round his neck, with the long frayed ends of which he smeared the beer from his face as he spoke:
- To climb without using footholds, using the friction from the shoe to stay on the wall.
noun smears
-
A mark made by smearing.
This detergent cleans windows without leaving smears.
Similar: streak
- A presentation of a sauce, purée or other food item, which is placed in a dollop and spread across the plate.
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A false or unsupported, malicious statement intended to injure a person's reputation.
smear campaign
Similar: calumny, slander, slur, mudslinging
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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.
Similar: squash
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A Pap smear (screening test for cervical cancer).
I'm going to the doctor's this afternoon for a smear.
Similar: cervical smear, Pap test
- Any of various forms of distortion that make a signal harder to see or hear. In television terms, a certain amount of smear, ringing, and anticipatory overshoot are indigenous to VSB transmission.
- A maneuver in which a shoe is placed onto a holdless rock, and the friction from the shoe keeps it in contact with the rock.
- A rough glissando in jazz music.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: besmear, smudge, smirch, bedaub, smutch, blot, stain, asperse, besmirch, sully, blur, spot, daub, slur, denigrate, vilification
Translations
Every language
verb to spread (a substance)
| Español | untar, embadurnar, ungir |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 塗る nuru, 塗り付ける nuritsukeru |
| 中文 | 塗抹 /涂抹 túmǒ |
| Português | lambuzar, untar |
| Français | badigeonner, étaler |
| Deutsch | schmieren |
| Italiano | ungere, spalmare, imbrattare, sbavare |
| Română | badijona |
| Русский | разма́зывать razmázyvatʹ, разма́зать razmázatʹ, ма́зать mázatʹ |
| עברית | מָרַח maráẖ |
verb to spread (a surface) with a substance
| Español | untar |
|---|---|
| हिन्दी | मखाना makhānā |
| Français | couvrir |
| Deutsch | beschmieren |
| Italiano | ricoprire |
| Русский | ма́зать mázatʹ, нама́зать namázatʹ, сма́зывать smázyvatʹ, сма́зать smázatʹ |
| العربية | دَهَنَ dahana |
verb to damage someone's reputation by slandering, making false accusations
| 中文 | 毀謗 /毁谤 huǐbàng, 誹謗 /诽谤 fěibàng |
|---|---|
| Português | manchar |
| Français | diffamer |
| Deutsch | diffamieren, verleumden |
| Italiano | macchiare, diffamare, denigrare |
| Русский | мара́ть marátʹ, замара́ть zamarátʹ, очерня́ть očernjátʹ, очерни́ть očernítʹ |
| العربية | لَوَّثَ lawwaṯa |
noun mark
| Español | mancha, churrete |
|---|---|
| Português | macha |
| Français | trace, traînée, frottis |
| Italiano | macchia, sbavatura |
| Română | frotiu |
noun preparation to be examined under a microscope
| Português | esfregaço |
|---|
Talk about this word "smear." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/smear. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. smear. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/smear "smear." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/smear.Cite this
@misc{smear_2026,
title = {smear},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/smear},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
