blur

noun \ ˈblər \

|Updated on: 18 Jun 2018

Examples: blur in a Sentence

Definition of blur

1 : a smear or stain that obscures

2 : something vaguely or indistinctly perceived

The words are just a blur without his glasses.

The whole weekend is a blur to me.

; especially : something moving or occurring too quickly to be clearly seen

passed by in a blur of motion

See blur defined for English-language learners

See blur defined for kids

Recent Examples of blur from the Web

And the real live humans who made Benjamin are taking steps toward automating video creation at a time when artificial intelligence and face-swapping technology are enabling a sketchy line-blur between what’s real and what’s not.

— lauren goode, WIRED, "AI Made a Movie—and the Results Are Horrifyingly Encouraging," 11 June 2018
There's also a reader mode that reduces blue light to keep eye fatigue at bay, and LG also added a dedicated game mode that includes motion blur reduction and a black stabilizer.

— ian paul, PCWorld, "Get ready for all the new E3 games with a 29-inch LG UltraWide display for less than $200," 11 June 2018
Still, the Posies had a little scruff and blur to its guitar sounds and muscle to the drums, which situated it in the era.

— john adamian, courant.com, "Seven Concerts You Might Want To See (And Why)," 9 June 2018
Want the blur effect while still finding your one-and-only color?

— karina hoshikawa, Teen Vogue, "Benefit Launches Hello Happy Soft Matte Foundation," 8 June 2018
Unless an offer to sign under the radar as a free agent, such as the one reportedly floated by the Baltimore Orioles last year, comes Heimlich's way, his future in baseball and beyond is but a blur.

— ron richmond for the oregonian/oregonlive, OregonLive.com, "Inside Luke Heimlich's senior season with the Oregon State baseball team," 8 June 2018
The meditative, seemingly preoccupied woman, her ornate clothes and the interior décor blur into a nearly monochromatic canvas.

— WSJ, "When Flower Arranging Meets Art History: A Pastel June Bouquet," 31 May 2018
As demand for emergency fire and medical services grows, town leaders and the chiefs of the two fire departments have drafted a plan to boost collaboration and blur territorial lines.

— jesse leavenworth, Courant Community, "Manchester Fire Departments Forge Closer Ties," 29 May 2018
Save for the bulky brace on her knee, the uninformed on Tuesday afternoon at Northeast High would not have known that the blonde blur on the field had suffered a devastating injury only a year earlier.

— aaron carter, Philly.com, "Kendall Seifert leads Gwynedd Mercy to lacrosse playoff victory," 29 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'blur.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of blur

perhaps akin to Middle English bleren to blear

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1519

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

blur

verb

Definition of blur

blurred; blurring

transitive verb

1 : to obscure or blemish by smearing

windows blurred by fingerprints

2 : sully

… an act that blurs the grace and blush of modesty.
—Shakespeare

3 : to make dim, indistinct, or vague in outline or character

His vision was blurred.

digitally blur the edges of photographs

bluring the line between fact and fiction

4 : to make cloudy or confused

time had begun to blur her senses
—W. A. White

intransitive verb

1 a : to make blurs

… the moths tapped and blurred at the window screen …
—R. P. Warren

b : move too quickly to be seen clearly

… it's like the … ride of a traveling carnival, with eerie lights and sharp turns on the rails and the odd unsettling image that blurs past you.
—Adrian McKinty

2 : to become vague or indistinct

distinctions between the two are beginning to blur

—

blurringly

play \ˈblər-iŋ-lē\ adverb

See blur defined for English-language learners

Examples of blur in a Sentence

The tears in my eyes blurred the words on the page.
His novel is based on historical occurrences but it blurs the line between fact and fiction.
The two events have blurred together in my mind.