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smear

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also:sméar

English

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Etymology

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FromMiddle Englishsmeren,smerien, fromOld Englishsmerian,smyrian,smierwan(“to anoint or rub with grease, oil, etc.”), fromProto-West Germanic*smirwijan, fromProto-Germanic*smirwijaną.Doublet ofschmear.

Cognate withSaterland Frisiansmeere,Dutchsmeren,Low Germansmeren,Germanschmieren.

Pronunciation

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Verb

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smear (third-person singular simple presentsmears,present participlesmearing,simple past and past participlesmeared)

  1. (transitive) Tospread (a substance, especially one that colours or isdirty) across a surface byrubbing.
    Synonyms:apply,daub,plaster,spread
    The artistsmeared paint over the canvas in broad strokes.
    • 1776,Oliver Goldsmith, chapter 5, inA Survey of Experimental Philosophy‎[2], London: T. Carnan and F. Newbery, page74:
      In general, all bodies whose surfaces are even will[…] stick to each other, and if a liquid besmeared over either surface, their cohesion will be still the stronger.
    • 1953 November, 'Erca', “Ticket Frauds in the East”, inRailway Magazine, page778:
      Then again these figures take no account of the thousands of beggars who travel free in India. Many of these are religious "Sadhus", dressed often in nothing but a loin-cloth, or even less, and their bodiessmeared with ashes. A large number of these men are nothing but impostors, but the Hindu railway staff usually are afraid to interfere with them.
    • 2019,Ocean Vuong,On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous‎[3], New York: Penguin:
      Then you would kneel andsmear a handful of pomade through my hair, comb it over.
  2. (transitive) To cover (a surfacewith a layer of some substance) by rubbing.
    Synonyms:bedaub,coat,cover,daub,layer,plaster
    Shesmeared her lips with lipstick.
  3. (transitive) To make something dirty.
    Synonyms:besmirch,dirty,soil,sully
    • 1583,Arthur Golding, transl.,The Sermons ofM. John Calvin upon theFifth Book of Moses called Deuteronomie‎[5], London: George Bishop,Sermon 41, p. 246:
      A man may beesmeared or grimed, and euerie man shall laugh at him, and yet he himselfe shall not perceiue it a whit.
    • 1855,Elizabeth Gaskell, chapter 11, inNorth and South‎[6], volume 2, London: Chapman and Hall, page147:
      […] she returned, carrying Johnnie, his face allsmeared with eating,
    • 2016,Ali Smith, chapter2, inAutumn, Penguin, published2017:
      His hands and forearms, his face, his good shirt and suit aresmeared from the dustbins and climbing the fence,
  4. (transitive)(of a substance, etc.) To make a surface dirty by covering it.
  5. (transitive) Todamage someone'sreputation byslandering,misrepresenting, or otherwise makingfalseaccusations about them, their statements, or their actions.
    Synonyms:badmouth,besmirch,defame,sully,vilify
    The opposition party attempted tosmear the candidate by spreading incorrect and unverifiable rumors about their personal behavior.
    • 1904–1907 (date written),James Joyce, “Ivy Day in the Committee Room”, inDubliners, London:Grant Richards, publishedJune 1914,→OCLC,page164:
      May everlasting shame consume
      The memory of those who tried
      To befoul andsmear th’ exalted name
      Of one who spurned them in his pride.
    • 1976,Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o, “J.M.—A Writer’s Tribute” inWriters in Politics, London: Heinemann, 1981, p. 82,[8]
      The imperialist foreigners then in the offices of the Nation Newspapers would not allow the African staff to review it. They handled it themselves in order tosmear the book and its author and his celebration ofMau Mau resistance.
    • 2018,Richard Powers, “Neelay Mehta”, inThe Overstory‎[9], New York: Norton:
      They’llsmear him on the country’s dial-up bulletin boards as the worst traitor.
  6. (transitive) To cause (something) to bemessy or not clear by rubbing and spreading it.
    Synonyms:blur,smudge
  7. (intransitive) To become messy or not clear by being spread.
    Synonym:smudge
    The paint is still wet — don't touch it or it willsmear.
  8. (transitive) Towrite ordraw (something) by spreading a substance on a surface.
    • 1970,Saul Bellow, chapter 2, inMr. Sammler’s Planet‎[12], New York: Fawcett, published1971, page84:
      cipherssmeared on the windows of condemned shops
    • 1985,Don DeLillo,White Noise‎[13], Penguin,Part 3, Chapter 39, p. 311:
      smear crude words on the walls in the victim’s own blood as evidence of his final cult-related frenzy
    • 2001,Richard Flanagan, “The Freshwater Crayfish”, inGould’s Book of Fish‎[14], New York: Grove Press, published2002:
      […] she brought a red daubed finger up to my cheek & began tosmear markings on my face.
  9. (transitive) To cause (something) to be a particular colour by covering with a substance.
    • 1864,Richard F. Burton, chapter 3, inA Mission to Gelele, King of Dahome,‎[15], volume 1, London: Tinsley Brothers, page43:
      small wooden dollssmeared red as though with blood
    • 1917,William Carlos Williams, “Pastoral”, inAl Que Quiere!‎[16], Boston: The Four Seas Company, page15:
      the fences and outhouses
      built of barrel-staves
      and parts of boxes, all,
      if I am fortunate,
      smeared a bluish green
    • 1993,Vikram Seth,A Suitable Boy‎[17], Penguin, published1994,Chapter 2.1, p. 73:
      They paid thetonga-wallah double his regular fare andsmeared his forehead pink and that of his horse green for good measure.
  10. (transitive) To rub (a body part, etc.) across a surface.
  11. (transitive) To attempt to remove (a substance) from a surface by rubbing.
    • 1838, Boz [pseudonym;Charles Dickens],Oliver Twist; or, The Parish Boy’s Progress. […], volume(please specify |volume=I, II, or III), London:Richard Bentley, […],→OCLC,page198:
      He had[…] a dirtybelcher handkerchief round his neck, with the long frayed ends of which hesmeared the beer from his face as he spoke:
    • 1926,D. H. Lawrence, chapter 5, inThe Plumed Serpent‎[20], London: Heinemann, published1955, page85:
      The boatman rowed short and hard[…], only pausing at moments swiftly tosmear the sweat from his face with an old rag he kept on the bench beside him.
    • 1960,Katherine Anne Porter, “Holiday” in Douglas and Sylvia Angus (eds.),Contemporary American Short Stories, New York: Ballantine, 1983, p. 323,[21]
      […] she stood and shook with silent crying,smearing away her tears with the open palm of her hand.
  12. (climbing) To climb without usingfootholds, using the friction from the shoe to stay on the wall.

Derived terms

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Translations

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to spread (a substance)
to spread (a surface) with a substance
to damage someone's reputation by slandering, making false accusations
to become spread by smearing

Noun

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smear (countable anduncountable,pluralsmears)

A bacterial smear
  1. A mark made by smearing.
    Synonym:streak
    This detergent cleans windows without leavingsmears.
    • 1886,Thomas Hardy, chapter 8, inThe Mayor of Casterbridge‎[22], volume 2, London: Smith, Elder, page108:
      Asmear of decisive lead-coloured paint had been laid on to obliterate Henchard’s name, though its letters dimly loomed through like ships in a fog.
    • 1933,Robert Byron,First Russia, Then Tibet‎[23], London: Macmillan, Part 2, Chapter 8:
      Vast avalanches had left their dirtysmears on the opposing slopes,
    • 1952,Nevil Shute, chapter 2, inThe Far Country‎[24], London: Heinemann:
      she bought a couple of rolls filled with a thinsmear of potted meat for her breakfast
    • 2005,John Banville,The Sea‎[25], London: Picador,Part 2, p. 228:
      I could see the roofs of the town on the horizon, and farther off and higher up, a tiny silver ship propped motionless on asmear of pale sea.
  2. (countable, uncountable) Afalse orunsupported,malicious statement intended toinjure a person'sreputation.
    Synonyms:calumny,slander,slur,mudslinging
    • 1752,Theophilus Cibber,A Lick at a Liar‎[26], London: R. Griffiths, page 7:
      I should have held him quite beneath my Notice, as is all he utters, but that the Appetite of Slander, in many, is too predominant; and, ’tis possible, when the filthiest Fellow throws a Profusion of Dirt, some may chance to stick, if not timely thrown off; I shall endeavour therefore, to wipe away the sootySmears of this Chimney-sweeper, by relating a simple Fact, which will, I flatter myself, amply confute the malicious Tales of this unprovoked, rancorous Mortal:
    • 1963 (date written),John Kennedy Toole, chapter 13, inA Confederacy of Dunces, London:Penguin Books, published1980 (1981 printing),→ISBN,page289:
      “I’d rather not [read the newspaper article]. It’s probably full of falsification andsmear. The yellow journalists doubtlessly suggested all sorts of lip-smacking innuendoes.”
  3. (biology) Apreparation to beexamined under amicroscope, made by spreading a thin layer of a substance (such as blood, bacterial culture) on aslide.[1]
    Synonym:squash
  4. (medicine) APap smear(screening test for cervical cancer).
    Synonyms:cervical smear,Pap test
    I'm going to the doctor's this afternoon for asmear.
  5. (radio, television, uncountable) Any of various forms ofdistortion that make asignal harder to see or hear.
    • 1954,Radio & Television News: Radio-electronic engineering section:
      In television terms, a certain amount ofsmear, ringing, and anticipatory overshoot are indigenous to VSB transmission.
    • 1972,Scientific and Technical Aerospace Reports:
      Results show the reduction in intelligibility produced by changing the filter condition was much greater than reductions caused by alteringsmear duration.
  6. (climbing) Amaneuver in which the shoe is placed onto theholdless rock, and the friction from the shoe keeps it in contact
  7. (music) A roughglissando injazz music.

Derived terms

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Translations

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mark
preparation to be examined under a microscope
Pap smear—seePap smear

References

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  1. ^Edwin Benzel Steen,Dictionary of Biology, New York: Barnes & Noble, 1971.[1]

Anagrams

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