smear

[ smeer ]

/ smɪər /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR smear ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object)

to spread or daub (an oily, greasy, viscous, or wet substance) on or over something: to smear butter on bread.

to spread or daub an oily, greasy, viscous, or wet substance on: to smear bread with butter.

to stain, spot, or make dirty with something oily, greasy, viscous, or wet.

to sully, vilify, or soil (a reputation, good name, etc.).

to smudge or blur, as by rubbing: The signature was smeared.

Slang. to defeat decisively; overwhelm: They smeared the home team.

noun

an oily, greasy, viscous, or wet substance, especially a dab of such a substance.

a stain, spot, or mark made by such a substance.

a smudge.

something smeared or to be smeared on a thing, as a glaze for pottery.

a small quantity of something spread thinly on a slide for microscopic examination.

vilification: a smear by a cheap gossip columnist.

Origin of smear

before 900; (v.) Middle English smeren, smirien to rub with fat, anoint, Old English smirian, smerian, smerwan; cognate with Dutch smeren, German schmieren, Old Norse smyrja, smyrwa; (noun) in current senses derivative of the v.; compare obsolete smear fat, grease, ointment, Middle English smere, Old English smeoru, cognate with Dutch smear, German Schmer, Old Norse smjǫr grease, Greek smýris rubbing powder; see emery

OTHER WORDS FROM smear

smear·er, noun un·smeared, adjective

Words nearby smear

smattering, smatv, smaze, smd, sme, smear, smear campaign, smear culture, smear test, smear word, smear-sheet

Example sentences from the Web for smear

A vicious Twitter smear campaign against the Harry Potter author may have been the work of secret agents, says one British pol.

Did MI5 Spies Troll J.K. Rowling Over Scottish Independence? |The Telegraph |June 28, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
The bias to protect the Clinton and smear their accusers, he added, still exists.

These Clinton Haters Can’t Quit the Crazy |David Freedlander |May 22, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Alinejad says that in her work she had been imprisoned, physically attacked, and the victim of a smear campaign.

The Facebook Page Where Iran’s Women Are Unveiling Online |Nina Strochlic |May 18, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
They listen to their shrewd father, Tywin Lannister, smear their dead son in front of his corpse.

Game of Thrones’ Most WTF Sex Scene: Nikolaj Coster-Waldau on Jaime Lannister’s Darkest Hour |Marlow Stern |April 21, 2014 |DAILY BEAST

When the documents became public, Christie promptly fired Kelly and began a campaign to smear and distance himself from Wildstein.

Is David Wildstein Going To Testify Against Chris Christie? |Olivia Nuzzi |April 7, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Melt a little of the ferrule cement and smear a little on the tip of the rod, then push the agate down in place.

The Boy Mechanic, Book 2 |Various
It looked well, as Dessalines could obtain neither of his favourite paints to smear it with.

The Hour and the Man |Harriet Martineau
I must spread the honey on meat; that is, I must smear the dead bee with honey, lightly varnishing it with a camel's-hair brush.

Social Life in the Insect World |J. H. Fabre
They smear their leggins and hair with red ochre and grease.

The Works of Hubert Howe Bancroft, Volume 1 |Hubert Howe Bancroft
For sunburn boil in butter tender ivy twigs, smear therewith.

The Old English Herbals |Eleanour Sinclair Rohde

British Dictionary definitions for smear

smear

/ (smɪə) /

verb (mainly tr)

to bedaub or cover with oil, grease, etc

to rub over or apply thickly

to rub so as to produce a smudge

to slander

US slang to defeat completely

(intr) to be or become smeared or dirtied

noun

a dirty mark or smudge

a slanderous attack
(as modifier)smear tactics

a preparation of blood, secretions, etc, smeared onto a glass slide for examination under a microscope

Derived forms of smear

smearer, noun

Word Origin for smear

Old English smeoru (n); related to Old Norse smjör fat, Old High German smero, Greek muron ointment

Medical definitions for smear

smear

[ smîr ]

n.

A sample, as of blood or bacterial cells, spread thinly on a slide and usually stained for microscopic examination or applied to the surface of a culture medium.

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

smear

verb (used with object)

noun

Origin of smear

OTHER WORDS FROM smear

Words nearby smear

Example sentences from the Web for smear

British Dictionary definitions for smear

verb (mainly tr)

noun

Derived forms of smear

Word Origin for smear

Medical definitions for smear

n.

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

smear

verb (used with object)

noun

Origin of smear

OTHER WORDS FROM smear

Words nearby smear

Words related to smear

Example sentences from the Web for smear

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []) .push({}); British Dictionary definitions for smear

verb (mainly tr)

noun

Derived forms of smear

Word Origin for smear

Medical definitions for smear

n.

British Dictionary definitions for smear