mar
[ mahr ]
/ mɑr /
verb (used with object), marred, mar·ring.
to damage or spoil to a certain extent; render less perfect, attractive, useful, etc.; impair or spoil: That billboard mars the view. The holiday was marred by bad weather.
to disfigure, deface, or scar: The scratch marred the table.
Origin of mar
before 900; Middle English
merren, Old English
merran to hinder, waste; cognate with Old Saxon
merrian, Old High German
merren to hinder, Old Norse
merja to bruise, Gothic
marzjan to offend
SYNONYMS FOR mar
1, 2
flaw,
injure;
blot.
Mar,
deface,
disfigure,
deform agree in applying to some form of injury.
Mar is general, but usually refers to an external or surface injury, if it is a physical one:
The tabletop was marred by dents and scratches.
Deface refers to a surface injury that may be temporary or easily repaired:
a tablecloth defaced by penciled notations.
Disfigure applies to external injury of a more permanent and serious kind:
A birthmark disfigured one side of his face.
Deform suggests that something has been distorted or internally injured so severely as to change its normal form or qualities, or else that some fault has interfered with its proper development:
deformed by an accident that had crippled him; to deform feet by binding them.
OTHER WORDS FROM mar
un·marred, adjective un·mar·ring, adjectiveWords nearby mar
maqui,
maquiladora,
maquillage,
maquis,
maquisard,
mar,
mar del plata,
mar-hawk,
mar.,
mar.e.,
mar.mech.e.
Example sentences from the Web for marred
British Dictionary definitions for marred (1 of 2)
mar
/ (mɑː) /
verb mars, marring or marred
(tr)
to cause harm to; spoil or impair
noun
a disfiguring mark; blemish
Derived forms of mar
marrer, nounWord Origin for mar
Old English
merran; compare Old Saxon
merrian to hinder, Old Norse
merja to bruise
British Dictionary definitions for marred (2 of 2)
Mar
abbreviation for
March