1
as in stains
to make dirty
a tablecloth daubed with too many spills to ignore any longer
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in smears
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
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for daubs
Verb
-
Blood still regularly stains the floors of the Coliseum’s rings.—
Vann R. Newkirk II,
The Atlantic,
16 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
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
-
Teachers Union leader Randi Weingarten smears Trump voters as fascists!—
The Hill,
The Hill,
1 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Wallpaper showing drawings from engineers at General Motors' headquarters in Detroit, Michigan.—
Alysia Burgio,
CBS News,
12 Jan. 2026
-
The result is far more complex than the drawings of volcanoes most saw in school, with a main vent connecting a chamber of magma with the surface.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
11 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jane Smiley paints a vivid portrait of two complex, ambitious women trying to find their place in an uncertain time.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
6 Jan. 2026
-
The report paints a vivid demographic profile of this group.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
3 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
When Delcy Rodríguez chaired her first council of ministers meeting as the acting president of Venezuela on Sunday, the portraits of the two leaders who preceded her loomed on the wall behind her.—
CNN.com Wire Service,
Mercury News,
5 Jan. 2026
-
In addition to serving Hollywood, Williams was the owner of namesake Dean Williams Photography, which specialized in professional portraits, weddings and events.—
Natalie Oganesyan,
Deadline,
3 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Dim sunlight smudges skies for only a few hours in the depth of winter.—
Tom Vanden Brook,
USA Today,
13 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
The onions should fall apart, creating a thick, rich sauce that coats the meat.—
The Washington Post,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
7 Jan. 2026
-
Further experiments revealed that the extracellular vesicles stopped senescence by using the extracellular matrix protein fibronectin, which coats their surfaces and then causes a release of enzymes that block the effects of oxidative stress which unleash senescence.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
4 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Their representations of words or pictures are just long lists of numbers, each indicating the degree of activation of a specific artificial neuron.—
Ben Brubaker,
Quanta Magazine,
7 Jan. 2026
-
Look for exhibitions that showcase different representations of beauty.—
Harriette Cole,
Mercury News,
6 Jan. 2026
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.
Cite this Entry
“Daubs.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/daubs. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share