as in stains
to make dirty
inconsiderately besmirched the carpet with their dirty feet
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Recent Examples of besmirches
The eggs were fluffy, lacking any of the rubbery slop that besmirches lesser breakfast burritos.
—
Carolyn Burt, Oc Register, 1 Dec. 2025
This cynicism inevitably besmirches players, coaches, and referees who have no ties to gambling.
—Danny Funt, New Yorker, 28 Oct. 2025
Carolyn Burt, Oc Register, 1 Dec. 2025
This cynicism inevitably besmirches players, coaches, and referees who have no ties to gambling.
—Danny Funt, New Yorker, 28 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for besmirches
Verb
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The piercing doesn't necessarily damage the trees, but their excrement, which is high in sugar, stains the trees and blocks photosynthesis, which eventually suffocates the trees, the researchers said.—
Julia Jacobo,
ABC News,
9 Feb. 2026
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This mixture attacks stains a bit stronger than the water solution.—
Daley Quinn,
Southern Living,
11 Jan. 2026
Verb
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As the salmon blackens in a skillet, the spices awaken, encrusting the fish in peppery piquant.—
The Bon Appétit,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
10 Feb. 2026
Verb
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For all the ways Disney’s move sullies it with creatives in Hollywood, OpenAI’s new partner does the opposite — gives it massive cred in Silicon Valley.—
Steven Zeitchik,
HollywoodReporter,
12 Dec. 2025
Verb
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The adventurous actress dirties up her frock and face to play the village pariah, who reeks of fish and would be no man’s idea of a suitable wife, except perhaps the one-eyed bum who sleeps in the town square.—
Peter Debruge,
Variety,
26 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Each has a meltdown worthy of a telenovela, messes with the crime scene and hours later the police are called.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
20 Jan. 2026
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In Lost Lambs, the internet sabotages a family in much the same way that Napoleon messes things up for the Bezukhovs in Tolstoy’s War and Peace.—
Gideon Leek,
The Atlantic,
13 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Besmirches.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/besmirches. Accessed 1 Mar. 2026.
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