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smear

verb · noun

Simple meaning

To spread across a surface by rubbing.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

smir
US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈsmɪɹ

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.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

verb

  1. transitive

    To spread (a substance, especially one that colours or is dirty) across a surface by rubbing.

  2. transitive

    To cover (a surface with a layer of some substance) by rubbing.

  3. transitive

    To cause (something) to be messy or not clear by rubbing and spreading it.

  4. intransitive

    To become messy or not clear by being spread.

  5. transitive

    To write or draw (something) by spreading a substance on a surface.

  6. Make a smudge on; soil by smudging

noun

  1. countableuncountable

    A false or unsupported, malicious statement intended to injure a person's reputation.

  2. A mark made by smearing.

Word at a Glance

Frequency
Uncommon
Typical Use
Neutral / general English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: To spread (a substance, especially one that colours or is dirty) across a surface by rubbing.

Used this way, smear is a reasonably familiar word with a clearly unfavourable pull. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Negative
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Gentle
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
Serious and weighty
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

pap smearblood smearsmear campaignsmear layersputum smear

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • smear testnounCompound term

    A method of examining stained cells in a cervical smear for early diagnosis of uterine cancer.

  • smear wordnounCompound term

    An epithet that can be used to smear someone's reputation.

  • bronchoscopic smearnounCompound term

    Any of several cytologic smears obtained from different parts of the lower respiratory tract.

  • cervical smearnounCompound term

    A sample of secretions and superficial cells of the uterine cervix and uterus.

  • cytologic smearnounCompound term

    A thin tissue or blood sample spread on a glass slide and stained for cytologic examination and diagnosis under a microscope.

  • duodenal smearnounCompound term

    Alimentary tract smear of material obtained from the duodenum.

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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.