mar

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

Synonyms of mar

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

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

A large scar marred his face.

Her acting mars an otherwise great movie.

Recent Examples on the Web

More than a week ago, the NYPD recommended against the watch parties, after recent ones drew huge crowds and were marred by multiple arrests. —Josephine Stratman, New York Daily News, 5 June 2026

Injuries also marred those first two NFL seasons out of Kansas State. —David Furones, Sun Sentinel, 5 June 2026

Last night, Tatis’ excellent game was marred by a play that should not have happened. —Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 3 June 2026

His playing years in Portland were marred by ankle injuries and losses in gin rummy to Petrie. —Jason Quick, New York Times, 2 June 2026

Word History

Etymology

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

First Known Use

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

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