1
as in to stain
to make dirty
a tablecloth daubed with too many spills to ignore any longer
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to smear
to rub an oily or sticky substance over
he begins his nightly transformation into a circus clown by daubing greasepaint on his face
Synonyms & Similar Words
as in drawing
Related Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of daub
John Hopewell, Variety, 19 June 2025
On the front steps, insults daubed in spray paint were directed at both Mayor Karen Bass and President Trump.
—Grace Toohey, Los Angeles Times, 9 June 2025
Christopher Knight, Los Angeles Times, 4 Dec. 2024
One church staffer presses a Bible to her forehead while another daubs her stomach with a pocket-size vial of holy oil.
—Sam Kestenbaum, Harper's Magazine, 21 June 2024
See All Example Sentences for daub
Verb
In another, an audience get to its feet to applaud a famed film director who’s accepting a prize at an awards gala, his face daubed in Indigenous face paint style.
—John Hopewell, Variety, 19 June 2025
On the front steps, insults daubed in spray paint were directed at both Mayor Karen Bass and President Trump.
—Grace Toohey, Los Angeles Times, 9 June 2025
Noun
After another row or two, Daignault’s canvases become increasingly abstract, finally dissolving into blurred daubs of color against black fields.
—Christopher Knight, Los Angeles Times, 4 Dec. 2024
One church staffer presses a Bible to her forehead while another daubs her stomach with a pocket-size vial of holy oil.
—Sam Kestenbaum, Harper's Magazine, 21 June 2024
See All Example Sentences for daub
Recent Examples of Synonyms for daub
Verb
-
It’s been dried, stripped of bark, sanded to silky smoothness, stained, sealed and painstakingly carved.—
Kathy Gurchiek,
AJC.com,
10 Mar. 2026
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While standard cast iron typically requires seasoning to both preserve and maintain its quality and help prevent food from sticking, this cast iron is equipped with a black matte satin interior enamel coating that’s made to resist cracking, chipping, and staining.—
Alicia Geigel,
Southern Living,
10 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Micron has come a long way since its humble founding nearly half a century ago in the basement of a Boise dental office, where sedative gas wafted through the floorboards and an early executive used a hair dryer to keep the company’s logo from smearing off its chips.—
Angela Palermo,
Idaho Statesman,
11 Mar. 2026
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There’s a very good reason why audiences emerged from that movie ready to smear lipstick all over their faces for Halloween and then march in costume down to the Dolby Theater to demand an Oscar nomination.—
Joe Reid,
Vulture,
10 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
In the other, a 9-year-old Khimberly held drawings and pictures for a school project.—
Ruben Vives,
Los Angeles Times,
12 Mar. 2026
-
The ruling said the lower court was wrong in finding that the student’s drawing, at the center of the dispute, was not protected by the First Amendment.—
Jack Birle,
The Washington Examiner,
11 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The Sepulveda Basin has seen numerous brush fires in recent years, with the most being the Burbank fire in August 2024, which blackened 75 acres of almost entirely invasive, nonnative plants.—
Daily News,
Daily News,
7 Mar. 2026
-
Contrast ratio is defined as the brightness difference between the brightest white tones and the darkest blacks, so this implies that the Studio Display XDR can turn off (fully blacken) the pixels within dimming zones.—
Tony Hoffman,
PC Magazine,
5 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Olson and fellow artist Pam Swenson designed, built, painted and installed the electric signage with the help of an electrician and a bucket truck.—
Frederick Melo,
Twin Cities,
6 Mar. 2026
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In the wake of all the trauma, the owner, Adriana Molina, hired a local muralist to paint a colorful outdoor mural of Altadena as a way to boost morale in the neighborhood.—
Jessica Gelt,
Los Angeles Times,
6 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
This is Shakespeare’s most famous tragedy, a gripping portrait of a young prince caught between action and inaction, grief and rage, truth and deception.—
Cincinnati Enquirer,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
7 Mar. 2026
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Data and recordings from more than a hundred 911 calls at Camp East Montana in El Paso, Texas, along with interviews and court filings, offer a disturbing portrait of overcrowding, medical neglect, malnutrition and emotional distress.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
6 Mar. 2026
Verb
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But as filming continued, Pidgeon appeared to dirty her butter blond with caramel and chocolate shades similar to Bessette-Kennedy’s, thanks to stylist Kari Hill.—
Kaleigh Werner,
Footwear News,
25 Feb. 2026
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With the help of your Instant Pot, spaghetti and meatballs come together in under an hour without dirtying multiple dishes.—
Jenna Sims,
Southern Living,
24 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The signature Hula pie, featuring macadamia nut ice cream coated with an outer chocolate crust and drizzled with chocolate fudge, will return to the dessert menu.—
Angela Osorio,
Los Angeles Times,
12 Mar. 2026
-
Dusting windshields, coating sidewalks and veiling Atlanta’s spring sunshine in a golden haze.—
Nancy Badertscher,
AJC.com,
12 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Daub.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/daub. Accessed 13 Mar. 2026.
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