mar

1 of 4

verb

marred; marring

transitive verb

1
: to ruin or diminish the perfection or wholeness of : spoil
whose life has been marred by problems with drugsWilliam 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
The last weekend of June in Indianapolis was marred by a rash of shootings that left seven dead and nine others injured. Noe Padilla, IndyStar, 30 June 2025 The Mets go the way of Francisco Lindor, and he’s been marred in his own slump this month. Abbey Mastracco, New York Daily News, 30 June 2025 The longest weather delay so far came when Benfica’s 6-0 win over Auckland City was marred by a delay of more than two hours due to thunderstorms in Orlando. Liam Twomey, New York Times, 28 June 2025 The starving infants are the quieter deaths in an aid system criticized as inadequate and marred by fatal violence. Freddie Clayton, NBC news, 28 June 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 Jul. 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
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