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smudge

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smudge¹

  • /smʌd͡ʒ/ UK, US

Rhymes with -ʌdʒ

Where it comes from

Derived from the verb (see below). Doublet of smutch.

noun smudges

  1. countable, uncountable A blemish or smear, especially a dark or sooty one. There was a smudge on the paper.

    Similar: blur, smutch, stain

  2. countable, uncountable Dense smoke, such as that used for fumigation.
  3. US, countable, uncountable A heap of damp combustibles partially ignited and burning slowly, placed on the windward side of a house, tent, etc. to keep off mosquitoes or other insects. Then "smudges" are in vogue,—heaps of damp combustibles placed on the windward side of the house and partially ignited, that their inky steams may smother the mosquitoes while we take our chance. I have had a "smudge" made in a chafing-dish at my bedside, after a serious deliberation between choking
  4. countable, especially, uncountable, in the phrase "smudge stick" = "stick of incense" A quantity of herbs used in suffumigation. Devil's dirt or asafetida ground together with fenugreek and black cumin seed is used as a smudge against witches and […]

smudge²

  • /smʌd͡ʒ/ UK, US

Rhymes with -ʌdʒ

Where it comes from

From Middle English *smogen (attested in the gerund smogynge (“soiling, smudging”)), of obscure origin. Compare Middle English besmudded, bismuddet (“filthy”), Middle English smod (“filth, obscene behaviour”), Middle Dutch smoddich (“filthy, dirty”), German schmutzig (“dirty, filthy”).

verb smudges · smudging · smudged

  1. To obscure by blurring; to smear.

    Similar: blur, smear

  2. To soil or smear with dirt.

    Similar: befoul, smutch, soil, assoil, beclart, bedaub, bedirty, imbrue (especially with blood), bedizen, befile, befilth, begrime

  3. To use dense smoke to protect from insects.

    Similar: fumigate

  4. To stifle or smother with smoke.
  5. intransitive To burn herbs as a cleansing ritual (suffumigation).
  6. transitive To subject to ritual burning of herbs (suffumigation, smudging). This is easily done using incense to smudge yourself or taking a cleansing bath. To smudge your body use an incense mixture such as sandalwood, lavender, frankincense or myrrh.

Smudge³

Where it comes from

As smiths are often covered in smudges of soot.

proper noun

  1. Australia, UK A nickname of someone with the surname Smith. For quotations using this term, see Citations:Smudge.

Translations

Every language

noun a blemish; a smear

Españolborrón, tiznón, tiznajo, chafarrinada, chafarrinón, chapón
Françaisbavure
DeutschFleck
Italianosbavatura
Ελληνικάμουτζούρα moutzoúra
Русскийпятно́ pjatnó

noun dense smoke, such as used for fumigation

Españolpalo fumigador
Italianofumo

verb to obscure by blurring

Españoldesenfocar, macular, difuminar
Françaismaculer
Deutschverschmieren, verwischen
Italianoopacizzare, oscurare
Русскийразма́зывать razmázyvatʹ, разма́зать razmázatʹ

verb to soil or smear with dirt

Deutschverschmieren, verwischen
Русскийпа́чкать páčkatʹ, испа́чкать ispáčkatʹ, мара́ть marátʹ, замара́ть zamarátʹ

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Cite this
MLA

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

APA

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

Chicago

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

BibTeX
@misc{smudge_2026,
  title = {smudge},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/smudge},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}