Adjacent Words

Blemish definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

BLEM'ISH, v.t.
1. Too mark with any deformity; to injure or impair any thing which is well formed, or excellent; to mar,or make defective,either the body or mind.
2. To tarnish, as reputation or character; to defame.
BLEM'ISH, n. Any mark of deformity; any scar or defect that diminishes beauty, or renders imperfect that which is well formed.
1. Reproach; disgrace; that which impairs reputation; taint; turpitude; deformity.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a mark or flaw that spoils the appearance of something (especially on a person's body); "a facial blemish" [syn: blemish, defect, mar] v
1: mar or spoil the appearance of; "scars defaced her cheeks"; "The vandals disfigured the statue" [syn: deface, disfigure, blemish]
2: mar or impair with a flaw; "her face was blemished" [syn: blemish, spot]
3: add a flaw or blemish to; make imperfect or defective [syn: flaw, blemish]

Merriam Webster's

I. transitive verb Etymology: Middle English blemisshen, to damage, injure, sully, from Anglo-French blemiss-, stem of blemir, blesmir, from Old French, literally, to make pale by wounding, of Germanic origin; akin to Old High German blasros horse with a blaze, Old Norse blesi blaze — more at blaze Date: 14th century to spoil by a flaw II. noun Date: 1535 a noticeable imperfection; especially one that seriously impairs appearance

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & v. --n. a physical or moral defect; a stain; a flaw (not a blemish on his character). --v.tr. spoil the beauty or perfection of; stain (spots blemished her complexion). Etymology: ME f. OF ble(s)mir (-ISH(2)) make pale, prob. of Gmc orig.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Blemish Blem"ish, n.; pl. Blemishes. Any mark of deformity or injury, whether physical or moral; anything that diminishes beauty, or renders imperfect that which is otherwise well formed; that which impairs reputation. He shall take two he lambs without blemish, and one ewe lamb of the first year without blemish. --Lev. xiv. 10. The reliefs of an envious man are those little blemishes and imperfections that discover themselves in an illustrious character. --Spectator. Syn: Spot; speck; flaw; deformity; stain; defect; fault; taint; reproach; dishonor; imputation; disgrace.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Blemish Blem"ish, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Blemished; p. pr. & vb. n. Blemishing.] [OE. blemissen, blemishen, OF. blemir, blesmir, to strike, injure, soil, F. bl[^e]mir to grow pale, fr. OF. bleme, blesme, pale, wan, F. bl[^e]me, prob. fr. Icel bl[=a]man the livid color of a wound, fr. bl[=a]r blue; akin to E. blue. OF. blemir properly signifies to beat one (black and) blue, and to render blue or dirty. See Blue.] 1. To mark with deformity; to injure or impair, as anything which is well formed, or excellent; to mar, or make defective, either the body or mind. Sin is a soil which blemisheth the beauty of thy soul. --Brathwait. 2. To tarnish, as reputation or character; to defame. There had nothing passed between us that might blemish reputation. --Oldys.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(blemishes, blemishing, blemished) 1. A blemish is a small mark on something that spoils its appearance. Every piece is closely scrutinised, and if there is the slightest blemish on it, it is rejected. N-COUNT 2. A blemish on something is a small fault in it. This is the one blemish on an otherwise resounding success. = imperfection N-COUNT: oft N on n 3. If something blemishes someone's character or reputation, it spoils it or makes it seem less good than it was in the past. He wasn't about to blemish that pristine record. = tarnish VERB: V n

Easton's Bible Dictionary

imperfection or bodily deformity excluding men from the priesthood, and rendering animals unfit to be offered in sacrifice (Lev. 21:17-23; 22:19-25). The Christian church, as justified in Christ, is "without blemish" (Eph. 5:27). Christ offered himself a sacrifice "without blemish," acceptable to God (1 Pet. 1:19).

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

blem'-ish:

(1) mum, me'um; momos: This word signifies no particular skin disease, as has been supposed; but is used generally for any and all disfiguring affections of the skin, such as eczema, herpes, scabies, etc., even for scratches and scars, as in Le 24:19,20; and thence for moral defects, as in Eph 5:27. The existence of a blemish in a person of priestly descent prevented him from the execution of the priestly office; similarly an animal fit for sacrifice was to be without blemish. In the New Testament Christ is presented as the antitype of a pure and ritually acceptable sacrifice "as a lamb without blemish and without spot" (Heb 9:14; 1Pe 1:19), and the disciples are admonished to be blameless, "without blemish" (Eph 5:27). Rarely the word is used to designate a reprobate person (2Pe 2:13).

(2) Blemish in the eye, tebhallul (from a root balal, "to overflow"; Arabic balla, balal, "to moisten"), cataract, white spots in the eye (Le 21:20).

H. L. E. Luering

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. v. a. 1. Stain, sully, blur, spot, tarnish, mar, injure, taint. 2. Defame, vilify, traduce, asperse, calumniate, slander, malign, revile, run down, speak ill of. See abuse. II. n. 1. Stain, spot, defect, speck, blot, blur, soil, tarnish, flaw, fault. 2. Disgrace, dishonor, reproach, taint, stain, spot, blot.

Moby Thesaurus

abrade, abrasion, baboon, bag, bark, besmirch, birthmark, black sheep, blaze, blaze a trail, blister, bloody, blot, blotch, brand, break, bruise, bug, burn, caste mark, catch, chafe, chalk, chalk up, check, check off, checkmark, chip, cicatrix, cicatrize, claw, concussion, crack, crackle, craze, cut, damage, dapple, dash, deface, defect, defection, deficiency, define, deform, delimit, demarcate, discolor, discoloration, disfigure, disfigurement, disproportion, distort, dog, dot, drawback, dysphemize, earmark, engrave, engraving, erratum, error, eyesore, failing, failure, fault, faute, flash burn, flaw, fleck, flick, foible, foreign body, foreign intruder, fracture, frailty, fray, frazzle, freckle, fret, fright, gall, gargoyle, gash, graving, hack, hag, harm, harridan, hatch, hole, hurt, impair, impairment, imperfection, impress, imprint, impurity, inadequacy, incise, incision, infirmity, injure, injury, intruder, jot, kink, lacerate, laceration, lentigo, lesion, line, little problem, look a fright, look a mess, look bad, look like hell, look something terrible, macula, maim, make a mark, make mincemeat of, mar, mark, mark off, mark out, marking, maul, mess, misfit, misshape, mole, monkey wrench, monster, monstrosity, mortal wound, mote, mottle, mutilate, mutilation, nevus, nick, no beauty, notch, oddball, offend, offend the eye, patch, pencil, pepper, pierce, pockmark, point, polka dot, prejudice, prick, print, problem, punch, punctuate, puncture, rend, rent, riddle, rift, rip, run, rupture, savage, scab, scald, scar, scarecrow, scarification, scarify, scorch, score, scotch, scrape, scratch, scratching, scuff, seal, seam, second-degree burn, shortcoming, sight, skin, slash, slit, sliver, smear, snag, something missing, sore, speck, speckle, splash, splinter, split, splotch, spoil, spot, sprain, stab, stab wound, stain, stamp, stick, stigma, stigmatize, stone, strain, strawberry mark, streak, striate, stripe, sully, taint, tarnish, tattoo, tattoo mark, tear, teratism, third-degree burn, tick, tick off, tittle, trace, trauma, traumatize, truncate, twist, uglify, ugly duckling, underline, underscore, vice, vitiate, vulnerable place, warp, wart, watermark, weak link, weak point, weakness, weed, witch, wound, wounds immedicable, wrench