✨📕 The NEWThe NEW Collegiate Dictionary, 12th Edition Over 5,000 words added — Buy Now! Collegiate DictionaryBuy Now!

mar

1 of 4

verb

marred; marring
Synonyms of marnext

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 conflictsL. W. Beck
the race was marred by a 23-car pileupMike Harris
2
archaic
a
: to inflict serious bodily harm on
b

mar

2 of 4

noun

: something that mars : blemish

mar

3 of 4

abbreviation (1)

maritime

Mar

4 of 4

abbreviation (2)

March
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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Verb
Moss’s performance last Sunday was marred by Washington’s final drive in overtime, when receiver Deebo Samuel beat him for a 38-yard route down the right sideline to set up a Commanders touchdown. Luca Evans, Denver Post, 6 Dec. 2025 An indirect parliamentary election held in October was marred by concerns about representation of women and minorities. Tim Lister, CNN Money, 6 Dec. 2025 The 114-112 defeat against the San Antonio Spurs was marred by a shooting foul called on Jonathan Isaac against the Spurs’ De’Aaron Fox in what looked like a panicked shot bailed out by a poor foul call. Ben Verbrugge, MSNBC Newsweek, 5 Dec. 2025 The 2018 and 2022 World Cups, awarded to Russia and Qatar respectively, were marred by controversy surrounding their assignment and the host governments’ authoritarian tendencies and human rights credentials. Gabriel Sama, Mercury News, 5 Dec. 2025 See All Example Sentences for mar

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of mar was before the 12th century

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Mar.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mar. Accessed 10 Dec. 2025.

Kids Definition

mar

verb
ˈmär
marred; marring
: to make a blemish on : spoil

More from Merriam-Webster on mar

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!