mar

1 of 4

verb

ˈmär 

marred; marring

transitive verb

1

: to ruin or diminish the perfection or wholeness of : spoil

… whose life has been marred by problems with drugs …

—William Plummer

their relations were marred by disgraceful conflicts

—L. W. Beck

the race was marred by a 23-car pileup

—Mike Harris

2

archaic

a

: to inflict serious bodily harm on

b

: destroy

mar

2 of 4

noun

: something that mars : blemish

mar

3 of 4

abbreviation (1)

maritime

Mar

4 of 4

abbreviation (2)

March

Synonyms of mar

Verb

• taint
• spoil
• stain
• darken
• poison
• tarnish
• touch

Noun

• defect
• scar
• blotch
• mark
• stain

Choose the Right Synonym for mar

injure, harm, hurt, damage, impair, mar mean to affect injuriously.

injure implies the inflicting of anything detrimental to one's looks, comfort, health, or success.

badly injured in an accident

harm often stresses the inflicting of pain, suffering, or loss.

careful not to harm the animals

hurt implies inflicting a wound to the body or to the feelings.

hurt by their callous remarks

damage suggests injury that lowers value or impairs usefulness.

a table damaged in shipping

impair suggests a making less complete or efficient by deterioration or diminution.

years of smoking had impaired his health

mar applies to injury that spoils perfection (as of a surface) or causes disfigurement.

the text is marred by many typos

Examples of mar in a Sentence

Verb

A large scar marred his face.

Her acting mars an otherwise great movie.

Noun

the Johnsons complained to the movers about broken dishes and mars on the furniture

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

Fourth of July celebrations across the country were marred by violence that left at least five people dead across multiple cities. — Kayla Hayempour, NBC news, 5 July 2026

The first half was lit up by Fiji, marred only by a serious-looking leg injury to center Semi Radradra. — ABC News, 4 July 2026

His previous loan at Girona was marred by injuries, impacting his World Cup aspirations. — Tom Sanderson, Forbes.com, 29 June 2026

However Tuesday’s jubilant scenes were marred by news of three deaths during the celebrations in Mexico City. — Felipe Cardenas, New York Times, 1 July 2026

Word History

Etymology

Verb and Noun

Middle English marren, from Old English mierran to obstruct, waste; akin to Old High German merren to obstruct

First Known Use

Verb

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

1551, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for mar

• ar
• are
• bar
• barr
• car
• carr
• char
• charr
• czar
• far
• farre
• haar

Kids Definition

mar

verb

ˈmär

marred; marring

: to make a blemish on : spoil