blur
verb · noun
Simple meaning
Make a smudge on.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
blurIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈblɝ
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
verb
Make a smudge on; soil by smudging
To make indistinct or hazy, to obscure or dim.
Become glassy; lose clear vision
Become vague or indistinct
“The distinction between the two theories blurred.”
To smear, stain or smudge.
To cause imperfection of vision in; to dim; to darken.
noun
A smear, smudge or blot.
A hazy or indistinct representation
“It happened so fast it was just a blur.”
Something that appears hazy or indistinct.
uncountable
Haziness, blurriness.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C1 · Advanced
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Make a smudge on; soil by smudging
Used this way, blur is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Nearby words
- blear , rarer, so it draws attention
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
How It’s Used
The word’s distinct uses, one example each.
Becomeverb
“The distinction between the two theories blurred.”
Hazy / appearsnoun
“It happened so fast it was just a blur.”
More ways to use blur
- “It happened so fast it was just a blur.”noun
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Common Patterns and Combinations
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Words can change meaning depending on context.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.