1,400 new words in our dictionary! — Parasocial, glow-up, promposal & more
1,400 new words in our dictionary! — More

besmears

verb

present tense third-person singular of besmear
as in smears
to rub an oily or sticky substance over besmeared the napkin with jelly

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for besmears
  1. smears
  2. coats
  3. paints
Verb
  • Darker smears around the crater’s rim contain surface rocks and lunar dust called regolith previously altered by solar winds, micrometeorites, and cosmic radiation over an extended period of time.
    — Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 19 Aug. 2026
  • The atmosphere works on them a little bit harder and reduces their strength and smears them a little bit more.
    — Jacopo Prisco, CNN Money, 6 Aug. 2026
Definition of smears
Verb
  • Bring to a boil over medium-high heat for 2 to 3 minutes, then reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until the mixture thickens and coats the back of a spoon, about 40 minutes.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 8 Sep. 2026
  • Toss with pasta; if necessary, add remaining pasta water to create a light sauce that coats pasta.
    — Martha Stewart, Martha Stewart, 23 Aug. 2026
Definition of coats
Verb
  • The Everywhere Millionaire paints a complicated picture of these millions of Main Street millionaires.
    — Greg Rosalsky, NPR, 14 Sep. 2026
  • The documentary paints a negative picture of Musk’s business ethics and his personal conduct.
    — Matthew Carey, Deadline, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of paints
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.

Browse Nearby Words

besmearing
besmears
besmirch
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Besmears.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/besmears. Accessed 22 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
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!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of nemesis

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

Words from the 'Odyssey'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Sept. 18
See More

Popular

See More

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
crayons-in-a-circle
Guess the Color Quiz Questions that use the whole box of crayons.
See All