1
as in tainted
to affect slightly with something morally bad or undesirable
mar a politician's reputation with scurrilous rumors
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in injured
to reduce the soundness, effectiveness, or perfection of
the once glossy surface is now marred by numerous small pits and abrasions
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in damaged
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
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.
Recent Examples of marred
Jordan Runtagh, People.com, 8 Apr. 2025
The decision was not marred by procedural unfairness.
—Simon Perry, People.com, 8 Apr. 2025
The agency head said a $20 billion Biden climate program was marred by fraud and abuse.
—Rachel Nuwer, New York Times, 7 Apr. 2025
Whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood.
—Pamela N. Danziger, Forbes.com, 6 Apr. 2025
Riddle's tenure outside the ring was marred by several controversies that significantly impacted his professional trajectory.
—John W. Dean, MSNBC Newsweek, 5 Apr. 2025
Jimmy Uso WrestleMania 40, a night celebrated for Cody Rhodes's title victory and a series of stellar matches, was marred by the underwhelming clash between Jey and Jimmy Uso.
—Jason D. Greenblatt, MSNBC Newsweek, 2 Apr. 2025
What to Know Artists like Bruce Springsteen and Taylor Swift have previously clashed with ticketing platforms, with Swift's 2022 tour marred by widespread ticket access issues.
—Josh Hammer, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 Apr. 2025
His first year with the Huskies was marred by injury, and Fagnano thrived in his backup role, passing for 1,631 yards, 20 touchdowns to four interceptions and ultimately earning the start in the Fenway Bowl – what most thought would be his final college game.
—Joe Arruda, Hartford Courant, 15 Mar. 2025
Adjective
Lennon's notoriously troubled upbringing was marred by paternal abandonment, frequent moves, and the sudden death of those closest to him, including his estranged mother Julia.
—Jordan Runtagh, People.com, 8 Apr. 2025
The decision was not marred by procedural unfairness.
—Simon Perry, People.com, 8 Apr. 2025
The agency head said a $20 billion Biden climate program was marred by fraud and abuse.
—Rachel Nuwer, New York Times, 7 Apr. 2025
Whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood.
—Pamela N. Danziger, Forbes.com, 6 Apr. 2025
Riddle's tenure outside the ring was marred by several controversies that significantly impacted his professional trajectory.
—John W. Dean, MSNBC Newsweek, 5 Apr. 2025
Jimmy Uso WrestleMania 40, a night celebrated for Cody Rhodes's title victory and a series of stellar matches, was marred by the underwhelming clash between Jey and Jimmy Uso.
—Jason D. Greenblatt, MSNBC Newsweek, 2 Apr. 2025
What to Know Artists like Bruce Springsteen and Taylor Swift have previously clashed with ticketing platforms, with Swift's 2022 tour marred by widespread ticket access issues.
—Josh Hammer, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 Apr. 2025
His first year with the Huskies was marred by injury, and Fagnano thrived in his backup role, passing for 1,631 yards, 20 touchdowns to four interceptions and ultimately earning the start in the Fenway Bowl – what most thought would be his final college game.
—Joe Arruda, Hartford Courant, 15 Mar. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for marred
Verb
-
Amazon objected to the 2022 warehouse election results, alleging the Amazon Labor Union and the federal labor board had tainted the vote.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
23 Dec. 2024
-
Some see all Russians and their cultural heritage as irredeemably tainted by imperial thinking, a view heavily influenced by post-colonial studies in American academia.—
Andrew Higgins,
New York Times,
22 Dec. 2024
Verb
-
Mayor Adams is planning to travel to the Dominican Republic early next week to mourn the tragic Santo Domingo nightclub roof collapse that killed 221 people and left over 150 injured.—
Josephine Stratman,
New York Daily News,
11 Apr. 2025
-
Everyone onboard the Cessna 310 aircraft were killed in the fiery crash in Boca Raton, while a fourth person on the ground — who was driving at the time — was left injured, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.—
Jessica Schladebeck,
New York Daily News,
11 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
Quite often, imperfect games like Lost Planet 2 age more gracefully than polished crowd-pleasers.—
Fran Ruiz,
Space.com,
27 June 2025
-
Nobody admits that all this activity serves as cover for avoiding the work that scares us: making real decisions, shipping imperfect products, having difficult conversations.—
Jodie Cook,
Forbes.com,
26 June 2025
Verb
-
In response to fraying ties with Washington, Brasília has sought closer relations with Beijing, a move that could hurt Lula’s popularity further: 75% of Brazilians distrust China, a recent poll showed.—
semafor.com,
semafor.com,
8 July 2025
-
What’s going to hurt us probably is the property tax situation.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
8 July 2025
Verb
-
Cybersecurity can potentially be compromised by the same computational capacity that enables the solution of complex issues.—
Chuck Brooks,
Forbes,
24 Dec. 2024
-
In a few cases, Social Security numbers were also compromised.—
Kurt Knutsson, CyberGuy Report,
Fox News,
23 Dec. 2024
Adjective
-
His main opponent in the primary was a deeply flawed yet mainstream candidate.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
30 June 2025
-
The event series is based on The Old Testament’s Book of Genesis and told through the eyes of the courageous and passionate yet flawed women whose descendants would shape three of the world’s great faiths: Judaism, Christianity and Islam.—
Denise Petski,
Deadline,
27 June 2025
Verb
-
That number includes children, who represent 16 percent of those poisoned and 27 percent of all fatalities.—
Stacey Leasca,
Travel + Leisure,
7 Apr. 2025
-
And guess what, hospitals are seeing cases of vitamin A toxicity — of kids poisoned by being fed too many vitamins instead of being vaccinated.—
New York Daily News Editorial Board,
New York Daily News,
5 Apr. 2025
Verb
-
His vengeance included turning Michigan State in for NCAA violations, leading to probation that crippled the program until the late 1970s.—
Joe Rexrode,
The Athletic,
31 Dec. 2024
-
As the city litigated and revised the environmental impact report, two devastating storms in December 2023 and February 2024 — the same series that crippled San Diego’s Ocean Beach Pier — substantially damaged the wharf.—
Noah Haggerty,
Los Angeles Times,
28 Dec. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Marred.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/marred. Accessed 14 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share