as in smears
to rub an oily or sticky substance over
the toddler delightedly bedaubed herself with her mother's makeup
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bedaubs
Verb
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This chilling, starkly beautiful ambient piece draws Nebraska’s marginal whispers to the forefront and smears them across the picture plane.—
Sasha Geffen,
Pitchfork,
10 Mar. 2026 -
The five pieces offer, in turn, biomorphic hints of de Kooning, the ragged shapes of Clyfford Still, the bold geometries of Ellsworth Kelly, the paint smears of Gerhard Richter, and something that looks like toothpaste squeezed onto an orange peel.—
Zachary Fine,
New Yorker,
22 Dec. 2025
Verb
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In contrast, aphids produce a sticky residue called honeydew that coats foliage and can later develop into a black coating known as sooty mold.—
Anthony Reardon,
Kansas City Star,
20 Apr. 2026
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Once the sauce is glossy and coats the back of a spoon, remove from heat.—
Gretchen McKay,
Twin Cities,
16 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The Cascio’s lawsuit paints a lurid picture of Jackson giving the siblings drugs and alcohol and exposing them to child pornography, all to help facilitate the abuse and manipulation.—
Cynthia Littleton,
Variety,
24 Apr. 2026
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So that opens the evening and paints a picture of how out of control things can feel sometimes.—
Tribune News Service,
Baltimore Sun,
24 Apr. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Bedaubs.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bedaubs. Accessed 27 Apr. 2026.
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