Adjacent Words

Smear definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

SMEAR, v.t.
1. To overspread with any thing unctuous, viscous or adhesive; to besmear; to daub; as, to smear any thing with oil, butter, pitch, etc.
2. To soil; to contaminate; to pollute; as smeared with infamy.
SMEAR, n. A fat oily substance; ointment. [Little used.]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: slanderous defamation [syn: smear, vilification, malignment]
2: a thin tissue or blood sample spread on a glass slide and stained for cytologic examination and diagnosis under a microscope [syn: smear, cytologic smear, cytosmear]
3: a blemish made by dirt; "he had a smudge on his cheek" [syn: smudge, spot, blot, daub, smear, smirch, slur]
4: an act that brings discredit to the person who does it; "he made a huge blot on his copybook" [syn: blot, smear, smirch, spot, stain] v
1: stain by smearing or daubing with a dirty substance
2: make a smudge on; soil by smudging [syn: smear, blur, smudge, smutch]
3: cover (a surface) by smearing (a substance) over it; "smear the wall with paint"; "daub the ceiling with plaster" [syn: daub, smear]
4: charge falsely or with malicious intent; attack the good name and reputation of someone; "The journalists have defamed me!" "The article in the paper sullied my reputation" [syn: defame, slander, smirch, asperse, denigrate, calumniate, smear, sully, besmirch]

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Middle English smere, from Old English smeoru; akin to Old High German smero grease and probably to Old Irish smiur marrow Date: before 12th century 1. a. a viscous or sticky substance b. a spot made by or as if by an unctuous or adhesive substance 2. material smeared on a surface (as of a microscopic slide); also a preparation made by smearing material on a surface <a vaginal smear> 3. a usually unsubstantiated charge or accusation against a person or organization — often used attributively <a smear campaign> <a smear job> II. transitive verb Date: before 12th century 1. a. to overspread with something unctuous, viscous, or adhesive ; daub <smeared the paper with glue> b. to spread over a surface 2. a. to stain, smudge, or dirty by or as if by smearing b. sully, besmirch; specifically to vilify especially by secretly and maliciously spreading grave charges and imputations 3. to obliterate, obscure, blur, blend, wipe out, or defeat by or as if by smearing • smearer noun

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v. & n. --v.tr. 1 daub or mark with a greasy or sticky substance or with something that stains. 2 blot; smudge; obscure the outline of (writing, artwork, etc.). 3 defame the character of; slander; attempt to or succeed in discrediting (a person or his name) publicly. --n. 1 the act or an instance of smearing. 2 Med. a material smeared on a microscopic slide etc. for examination. b a specimen of this. Phrases and idioms: smear test = cervical smear. Derivatives: smearer n. smeary adj. Etymology: OE smierwan f. Gmc

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Smear Smear (sm[=e]r), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Smeared (sm[=e]rd); p. pr. & vb. n. Smearing.] [OE. smeren, smerien, AS. smierwan, smyrwan, fr. smeoru fat, grease; akin to D. smeren, OHG. smirwen, G. schmieren, Icel. smyrja to anoint. See Smear, n.] 1. To overspread with anything unctuous, viscous, or adhesive; to daub; as, to smear anything with oil. ``Smear the sleepy grooms with blood.'' --Shak. 2. To soil in any way; to contaminate; to pollute; to stain morally; as, to be smeared with infamy. --Shak.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Smear Smear, n. [OE. smere,. smeoru fat, grease; akin to D. smeer, G. schmeer, OHG. smero, Icel. smj["o]r, Sw. & Dan. sm["o]r butter, Goth. sma['i]r[thorn]r fatness, smarna dung; cf. Lith. smarsas fat. Cf. Smirch.] 1. A fat, oily substance; oinment. --Johnson. 2. Hence, a spot made by, or as by, an unctuous or adhesive substance; a blot or blotch; a daub; a stain. Slow broke the morn, All damp and rolling vapor, with no sun, But in its place a moving smear of light. --Alexander Smith.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(smears, smearing, smeared) 1. If you smear a surface with an oily or sticky substance or smear the substance onto the surface, you spread a layer of the substance over the surface. My sister smeared herself with suntan oil and slept by the swimming pool... Smear a little olive oil over the inside of the salad bowl. VERB: V n with n, V n prep 2. A smear is a dirty or oily mark. There was a smear of gravy on his chin. N-COUNT: oft N of n 3. To smear someone means to spread unpleasant and untrue rumours or accusations about them in order to damage their reputation. (JOURNALISM) ...an attempt to smear the director-general of the BBC. VERB: V n 4. A smear is an unpleasant and untrue rumour or accusation that is intended to damage someone's reputation. (JOURNALISM) He puts all the accusations down to a smear campaign by his political opponents. = slur N-COUNT: oft N n 5. A smear or a smear test is a medical test in which a few cells are taken from a woman's cervix and examined to see if any cancer cells are present. (BRIT; in AM, use pap smear, pap test) N-COUNT

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. v. a. 1. Daub, bedaub, besmear, plaster, begrime. 2. Contaminate, soil, stain, pollute, tarnish, sully. II. n. Daub, stain, blot, blotch, patch, spot.

1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue

A plasterer.

Moby Thesaurus

anoint, apply paint, asperse, aspersion, attack, attaint, badge of infamy, bar sinister, baton, beat, bedaub, bedizen, beeswax, befoul, begild, begrime, bend sinister, besmear, besmirch, besmoke, besmutch, besoil, bespatter, bestain, black, black eye, black mark, blacken, blackening, blank, bloodstain, blot, blotch, blow upon, blur, brand, broad arrow, brush on paint, bulldoze, butter, calcimine, call names, calumniate, calumny, censure, champain, character assassination, clobber, coat, color, complexion, cover, cream, dab, darken, daub, deep-dye, defamation, defamation of character, defame, defeat utterly, defile, defilement, denigrate, denigration, dip, dirty, disapprove, discolor, discredit, disparage, disparagement, distemper, double-dye, dress, drub, dye, emblazon, embrocate, enamel, engage in personalities, engild, expose, expose to infamy, eyesore, face, fast-dye, fleck, flick, flyspeck, foil, fresco, frustrate, gibbet, gild, glaze, gloss, glycerolate, grain, grease, grease the wheels, hang in effigy, heap dirt upon, hue, illuminate, imbue, imputation, ingrain, japan, lacquer, lambaste, lard, lay on, lay on color, libel, lick, lubricate, macula, maculation, macule, malicious defamation, mark, mark of Cain, muckrake, muckraking, mudslinging, name-calling, oil, onus, overbear, overlay, overspread, overwhelm, paint, parget, paste, patch, pigment, pillory, pillorying, plaster, point champain, pomade, prime, reflection, reprimand, reproach, repulse, revile, revilement, rub, salve, scandal, scandalize, schmear, scorch, sear, shade, shadow, shellac, shut out, singe, skunk, slander, slap on, slather, slick, slick on, slop on paint, slubber, slur, smear campaign, smear on, smear word, smirch, smoke, smooth the way, smother, smouch, smudge, smut, smutch, snow under, soap the ways, soil, soilage, soilure, spatter, speck, speckle, splash, splatter, splotch, spot, spread, spread on, spread with, stain, steamroller, stigma, stigmatism, stigmatization, stigmatize, stipple, sully, taint, tar, tarnish, thrash, throw mud at, tinct, tincture, tinge, tint, tone, trim, undercoat, unguent, varnish, vilification, vilify, wash, wax, whelm, whitewash, whomp, whop, wipe