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
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
Grace Toohey, Los Angeles Times, 9 June 2025
Their victorious players meander over, gathering in front of a chainlink fence draped with handmade banners daubed in the dark green and deep burgundy of Mohun Bagan, India’s great footballing powerhouse.
—Rory Smith, New York Times, 26 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for daub
Verb
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
Noun
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
Their victorious players meander over, gathering in front of a chainlink fence draped with handmade banners daubed in the dark green and deep burgundy of Mohun Bagan, India’s great footballing powerhouse.
—Rory Smith, New York Times, 26 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for daub
Recent Examples of Synonyms for daub
Verb
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Drone footage shows eight officers approach a motionless Green who appeared slumped over with a large pool of blood staining the driveway.—
Perry Vandell,
AZCentral.com,
25 Oct. 2025
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Foods like coffee, red wine, fruit and vegetable juices, grease and oils, tea, tomato sauce, and spices like turmeric and curry can stain, as well as ink, markers, and some cleaning chemicals.—
Karen Brewer Grossman,
Southern Living,
24 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Robert returns to his desk only to find that Invisigal had stolen him a donut as a gesture of good faith, which is now smeared all over his keyboard for the new janitor, Water Boy, to clean by vomiting H20 on the mess.—
Christopher Cruz,
Rolling Stone,
22 Oct. 2025
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Supervisor Kate Brophy McGee said the audit was purposefully designed to smear the Sheriff's Office.—
Richard Ruelas,
AZCentral.com,
22 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
How to play Powerball today Mega Millions numbers Anyone win Tuesday night's drawing?—
Chris Sims,
IndyStar,
23 Oct. 2025
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All of Tuesday’s big money luck among the Mega Millions, Fantasy 5, Jackpot Triple Play and Cash4Life drawings started and ended on one jackpot.—
David J. Neal,
Miami Herald,
22 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Skip any skins that look moldy, blackened, or spoiled.—
Cathy Cassata,
Health,
24 Oct. 2025
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Whether this backlash will slow the data center boom, blacken the reputation of AI companies and their products with users, or hasten the roll-out of AI regulation globally remains to be seen.—
Jeremy Kahn,
Fortune,
21 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The clip, just over a minute long, shows officers shouting commands as a woman in a keffiyeh steps past a blue line painted on the property.—
Jasmine Baehr,
FOXNews.com,
26 Oct. 2025
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For this reason, walls in high-traffic or humid rooms often need to be painted every two or three years.—
Brandee Gruener,
Southern Living,
26 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The unnamed ringleader apparently also tried to sell a copy of a world-famous painting by the Dutch painter Rembrandt van Rijn known as The Syndics, a 17th century portrait of members of Amsterdam's cloth makers' guild, for roughly $150 million.—
NPR,
NPR,
26 Oct. 2025
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Walls on the first floor of the Capitol are bare as portraits of Tennessee governors usually displayed outside the Governor’s Office and Old Supreme Court Chambers have been taken down to prevent them from being damaged.—
Vivian Jones,
Nashville Tennessean,
24 Oct. 2025
Verb
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At Dilara Findikoglu, models looked like ladies in waiting that had risen from the dead; wearing antiquated corsetry that was dirtied and torn.—
Leah Dolan,
CNN Money,
23 Sep. 2025
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As more success suddenly comes his way, McKinstry has remained the same, friendly and chuckling at his locker, dirtying his jersey and pestering opponents on the field.—
Cody Stavenhagen,
New York Times,
10 July 2025
Verb
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The apple pie flavor boasts a filling of apple purée and fresh cream on top of a graham cracker crust, all coated with a layer of chocolate.—
Meghan Overdeep,
Southern Living,
22 Oct. 2025
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Drizzle over pretzels and gently stir to coat.—
Sarah Martens,
Better Homes & Gardens,
22 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Daub.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/daub. Accessed 30 Oct. 2025.
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