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

discoloring

verb

present participle of discolor
as in soiling

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for discoloring
  1. soiling
  2. smudging
  3. smearing
  4. blackening
  5. clouding
  6. staining
  7. dirtying
  8. tarnishing
Verb
  • Towards the end of the episode, Abby (Hall) and Andrew Borden (Hunnam) get very sick after eating spoiled oysters — projectile vomiting and soiling their undergarments in the dining room.
    — Marina Watts, Entertainment Weekly, 19 Sep. 2026
  • An Australian indoor fitness athlete apologized Thursday for continuing to participate in a recent competition after apparently soiling herself.
    — Chuck Schilken, Los Angeles Times, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of soiling
Verb
  • Best mascara This mascara uses a brush with nearly 500 micro bristles to coat and lift every lash without clumping or smudging.
    — Casey DelBasso, ABC News, 31 July 2026
  • Fine lines show signs of smudging around the edges and start to blur together at ISO 3200, and pretty much disappear at ISO 6400.
    — Jim Fisher, PC Magazine, 9 July 2026
Definition of smudging
Verb
  • Yet what follows is an extended list of ethical sins, with a focus on the sins of abusive speech, such as slandering, slurring, slighting and smearing the reputations of others.
    — Reuven Kimelman, The Conversation, 18 Sep. 2026
  • People have gone from smearing the compound on their faces to using injections, in hopes of achieving firmer, wrinkle-free skin and other anti-aging benefits.
    — Brittney Melton, NPR, 9 Sep. 2026
Definition of smearing
Verb
  • Lines at Russian gas stations, crippled refineries, and images of burning oil depots blackening the sky lent credence to the narrative, as did blackouts and fuel shortages in Crimea.
    — Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 26 Sep. 2026
  • There’s more than just blackening bananas; electrodes embedded in the fruit transmit electrical signals into sound and light tones that constantly shift.
    — Jane Wooldridge, Miami Herald, 24 Sep. 2026
Definition of blackening
Verb
  • Beyond the 2022 case dismissal, in other instances, charges were never filed, information has come out clouding an accuser’s story, or Brown has counter-sued for defamation — details which complicate each story.
    — Leah Asmelash, CNN Money, 18 Sep. 2026
  • The detention of Brian Mundubile and Makebi Zulu on Thursday risks clouding Lusaka’s credentials as a relatively stable southern African democracy and denting investor confidence in Africa’s second-largest copper producer.
    — Tiisetso Motsoeneng, semafor.com, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of clouding
Verb
  • Use only white, clear or purple products on your hair to avoid staining.
    — Maggie Ryan, Flow Space, 25 Sep. 2026
  • Caie concurs, recommending paying careful attention to the cuticles before adding a base coat to fill nail ridges and prevent staining.
    — Violet Hayward, Vogue, 24 Sep. 2026
Definition of staining
Verb
  • Satisfy your lasagna craving without dirtying up a pile of dishes.
    — Kimberly Holland, Southern Living, 9 July 2026
  • Keep them in reserve as a sleep sock to ward off icy toes and prevent sweat and skin oils from dirtying your down sleeping bag.
    — Adam Roy, Outside, 28 Dec. 2025
Definition of dirtying
Verb
  • Streaks from satellites are already tarnishing observations by telescopes both on Earth and in space.
    — Jonathan O'Callaghan, Scientific American, 18 Aug. 2026
  • Williams, who had filed counterclaims against Baumgarten for allegedly making false and defamatory statements about her and tarnishing her reputation, also voluntarily dismissed her suit at the same time.
    — Catherine Muccigrosso July 24, Charlotte Observer, 24 July 2026
Definition of tarnishing
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

discolored
discoloring
discolors
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Discoloring.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/discoloring. Accessed 2 Oct. 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 heterodox

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

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

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

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Words of the Week - Oct. 2

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary
See More

Popular

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List
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
name tags
Words Named After People Quiz Find out who’s behind "leotard," "morphine," an...
See All