Adjacent Words

black eye definitions

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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a swollen bruise caused by a blow to the eye [syn: shiner, black eye, mouse]
2: a bad reputation; "his behavior gave the whole family a black eye"
3: an unfortunate happening that hinders or impedes; something that is thwarting or frustrating [syn: reverse, reversal, setback, blow, black eye]

Merriam Webster's

noun Date: 1604 1. a discoloration of the skin around the eye from bruising 2. a. defeat, setback b. a bad reputation

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(black eyes) If someone has a black eye, they have a dark-coloured bruise around their eye. He punched her in the face at least once giving her a black eye. N-COUNT: usu sing

1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue

We gave the bottle a black eye, i.e. drank it almost up. He cannot say black is the white of my eye; he cannot point out a blot in my character.

Moby Thesaurus

aspersion, attaint, badge of infamy, bar sinister, baton, bend sinister, black mark, black-and-blue mark, blot, blur, brand, broad arrow, bruise, censure, champain, contusion, disparagement, ecchymosis, imputation, mark of Cain, mouse, odium, onus, pillorying, point champain, reflection, reprimand, reproach, shiner, slur, smear, smirch, smudge, smutch, spot, stain, stigma, stigmatism, stigmatization, taint, tarnish