smear

noun \ ˈsmir \

|Updated on: 5 Aug 2018

Definition of smear

1 a : a viscous or sticky substance

b : a spot made by or as if by an unctuous or adhesive substance

2 : material smeared on a surface (as of a microscopic slide); also : a preparation made by smearing material on a surface

a vaginal smear

3 : a usually unsubstantiated charge or accusation against a person or organization —often used attributively

a smear campaign

a smear job

See smear defined for English-language learners

See smear defined for kids

Examples of smear in a Sentence

The blood smear revealed malaria.

Recent Examples of smear from the Web

Monday’s announcement follows a recommendation from the state’s judicial watchdog, which called Santino unfit for the job because of the way her election bid included smears against her opponent’s criminal defense practice.

— marc freeman, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Florida Supreme Court orders judge removed over campaign misconduct," 2 July 2018
These smears resemble widespread allegations that Jokowi is a closet Christian, or has licensed the building of umpteen churches while restricting the construction of mosques.

— The Economist, "Local elections in Indonesia prefigure next year’s presidential poll," 28 June 2018
The president blamed Democrats for torpedoing Jackson’s nominations with smears against his character and for using delaying tactics to postpone appointment of nominees for other offices.

— jeremy c. fox, BostonGlobe.com, "Trump sounds off on Justice Department, ‘Doc Ronny’ and Stormy Daniels in ‘Fox & Friends’ appearance," 26 Apr. 2018
The other cases involve defamation, with women claiming Cosby’s public smears maligned their reputations.

— jen kirby, Vox, "Bill Cosby’s retrial may be the first real test of the power of #MeToo," 9 Apr. 2018
This smear campaign cost Sorvino a role in the Lord of the Rings franchise as well as a part in Bad Santa.

— rebecca farley, refinery29.com, "Mira Sorvino: A Casting Director Gagged Me With A Condom When I Was 16," 12 July 2018
Bytedance and Tencent later swapped accusations of tolerating smear campaigns against the other on their apps, and filed police reports about defamatory posts.

— The Economist, "A Chinese music-video app is making WeChat sweat," 12 July 2018
In a motion earlier in June, Pitino's attorneys accused the university of a deliberate smear campaign against him and former athletic director Tom Jurich to save money in firing them.

— danielle lerner, The Courier-Journal, "Pitino's attorney says Louisville has 'no facts' to support firing him," 11 July 2018
Ex-host Andrea Tantaros named him in a lawsuit alleging she was hit with a smear campaign after reporting harassment by Ailes and former host Bill O’Reilly.

— lisa ryan, The Cut, "Gretchen Carlson Has Some Thoughts on Former Fox News Head Bill Shine’s New White House Gig," 5 July 2018

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

Origin and Etymology of smear

Middle English smere, from Old English smeoru; akin to Old High German smero grease and probably to Old Irish smiur marrow

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: before 12th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year

smear

verb

Definition of smear

smeared; smearing; smears

transitive verb

1 a : to overspread with something unctuous, viscous, or adhesive : daub

smeared the paper with glue

b : to spread over a surface

2 a : to stain, smudge, or dirty by or as if by smearing

b : sully, besmirch; specifically : to vilify especially by secretly and maliciously spreading grave charges and imputations

3 : to obliterate, obscure, blur, blend, wipe out, or defeat by or as if by smearing

—

smearer

noun

See smear defined for English-language learners

Examples of smear in a Sentence

The children smeared the window with fingerprints.
She smeared jam on her toast.
Butter was smeared all over the counter.
Her mascara smeared when she cried.

Recent Examples of smear from the Web

True, there were moments of embarrassment in the hearing, as when Congressman Louie Gohmert tried to smear Strzok’s private life.

— jeet heer, The New Republic, "The Washington Post worries Strzok hearings were bad for democracy.," 13 July 2018
All of Juan's friends are going to bubble, fizz, and the battle begins to smear whoever gets chosen.

— Fox News, "Senate fight awaits Trump's Supreme Court pick," 10 July 2018
Among them: Other inmates smearing feces in common areas and flooding their cells, requiring cleanup crews to dump hazardous waste down the drain of the only shower available to him.

— diana dombrowski, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Ex-cop sues Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office alleging inhumane conditions in jail," 7 July 2018
But the ruling Bharatiya has earned a reputation for intimidating reporters with massive lawsuits, pressuring media barons to sack unfriendly editors, and using lap-dog television channels and a vicious troll army to smear political opponents.

— sadanand dhume, WSJ, "I Think I’m Going to Kathmandu, Say the Chinese," 28 June 2018
Make an indentation in the middle of the rice, and smear wasabi over the indentation.

— chronicle staff, San Francisco Chronicle, "4 recipes from now-closed Terra in St. Helena," 11 June 2018
Stop finding reasons to smear brands which use good intentioned advertisements.

— lindsay weinberg, The Hollywood Reporter, "Zosia Mamet, Evan Jonigkeit Model J. Crew's New Political Tees," 31 May 2018
While most Muslim scholars disagree, some Muslim communities hold a misconception that smearing a medication on the skin invalidates the fast.

— aamir hussain, Houston Chronicle, "Commentary: Is fasting at Ramadan good for you?," 19 May 2018
British officials determined that the Skripals were likely poisoned after a would-be assassin smeared the nerve agent on the front door handle of Mr. Skripal’s home.

— beth mole, Ars Technica, "Second Novichok poisoning in Britain raises alarm, questions over contamination," 5 July 2018

First Known Use of smear

before 12th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

smear Synonyms

Synonyms

asperse, blacken, defame, libel, malign, slander, traduce, vilify;

Near Antonyms

exalt, glorify, honor;

acclaim, applaud, commend, praise;

esteem, respect;

admire, regard;

adore, revere, venerate, worship;

discredit, disgrace, dishonor, shame;

abase, debase, degrade, humble, humiliate;

disdain, scorn;

SMEAR Defined for English Language Learners

smear

noun

Definition of smear for English Language Learners

: a dirty mark, spot, streak, etc., made by touching or rubbing something
medical : a very small sample of something (such as skin or blood) that someone examines with a microscope
: an untrue story about a person that is meant to hurt that person's reputation

smear

verb

Definition of smear for English Language Learners

: to make (something) dirty by rubbing it with something else
: to spread (something) over a surface
: to spread or drip in an untidy way

SMEAR Defined for Kids

smear

verb \ ˈsmir \

Definition of smear for Students

smeared; smearing

1 : to spread or soil with something oily or sticky

So Bean carefully smeared white all over Ivy's face except her lips.
—Annie Barrows, Ivy {ampersand} Bean

2 : to spread over a surface

Her makeup smeared.

3 : to harm the reputation of (someone) with false statements

smear

noun

Definition of smear for Students

: a spot or streak made by or as if by an oily or sticky substance : smudge

Medical Dictionary

smear

noun \ ˈsmi(ə)r \

medical Definition of smear

: material spread on a surface (as of a microscopic slide); also : a preparation made by spreading material on a surface — see pap smear, vaginal smear