smeary

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smeary

/ˈsmɪəɹi/ Australia, UK
/ˈsmɪɹi/
/ˈsmɪɚi/ US
/ˈsmiɹi/ US
/ˈsmiɹɪ/ Scotland
/ˈsmiɹe/ Scotland
/ˈsmiəɹi/ New Zealand
/ˈsmɛːɹi/

Rhymes with -ɪəɹi

Where it comes from

From Middle English *smery, *smeri, from Old English smeoruwiġ (“fatty, greasy, unctious, smeary”), from Proto-West Germanic *smerwig, equivalent to smear + -y.

adjective smearier · smeariest

Having or showing smears. Pretending to read a smeary newspaper long out of date, which had nothing half so legible in its local news, as the foreign matter of coffee, pickles, fish sauces, gravy, melted butter, and wine, with which it was sprinkled all over, as if it had taken the measles in a highly irregular form, I sat a
Similar: smeared, smudged, soiled
Tending to smear or soil. […] stamped again and again in smeary red ink that looked like blood, was one word: CANCEL.
Having a consistency like grease; covered with such a substance. And are there not diuerse skauingers of draftye poëtrye in this oure age, that bast theyre papers wyth smearie larde sauoring al too geather of thee frying pan?
Similar: adhesive, greasy, sticky, viscous

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MLA

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

APA

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

Chicago

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

BibTeX

@misc{smeary_2026,
  title = {smeary},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/smeary},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}