1
as in insult
an act or expression showing scorn and usually intended to hurt another's feelings
a rowdy group of patrons was kicked out of the theater for shouting slurs
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in stain
a mark of guilt or disgrace
your drunken behavior at the wedding has cast a slur on this family
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
2
as in to insult
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 slur
Jack Dunn, Variety, 30 Apr. 2026
It is riddled with slurs, beginning with its title, and, much like his song about Anita Bryant, reinforces various harmful stereotypes, this time about Black people.
—Los Angeles Times, 30 Apr. 2026
Christina Dugan Ramirez, FOXNews.com, 10 Feb. 2026
Someone suffering hypothermia might appear uncoordinated or slur their speech.
—Karl Hille, Baltimore Sun, 15 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for slur
Noun
The pair of agressive projects contained racial slurs as well as overly homophobic and misogynistic language.
—Jack Dunn, Variety, 30 Apr. 2026
It is riddled with slurs, beginning with its title, and, much like his song about Anita Bryant, reinforces various harmful stereotypes, this time about Black people.
—Los Angeles Times, 30 Apr. 2026
Verb
In 2011, the actress had to be escorted offstage after slurring her words and rambling during a speech at an event honoring former Defense Secretary Robert Gates.
—Christina Dugan Ramirez, FOXNews.com, 10 Feb. 2026
Someone suffering hypothermia might appear uncoordinated or slur their speech.
—Karl Hille, Baltimore Sun, 15 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for slur
Recent Examples of Synonyms for slur
Noun
-
The other guys are on their feet, trying to break it up, someone is calling someone else a loser, there are swings and kicks and insults, men grabbing at other men, trying to restrain them and busting the restraints.—
Brian Moylan,
Vulture,
6 May 2026
-
After discussion with my editors, ProPublica decided to note the insults in the story.—
Hannah Allam,
ProPublica,
4 May 2026
Noun
-
By that time, an EPA panel had determined the type of stain-resistant chemicals used by carpet manufacturers were likely carcinogenic.—
DYLAN JACKSON,
ABC News,
6 May 2026
-
Photos showed large, blue stains on the counter and floor, indicating blood had been cleaned from those areas.—
Evy Lewis,
Chicago Tribune,
6 May 2026
Verb
-
Further, Musk is accused of using the litigation as part of a harassment campaign trolling Altman.—
Ashley Belanger,
ArsTechnica,
30 Apr. 2026
-
After last week’s debate, there was lots of social media posturing about who won and who trolled whom the best.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
28 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
But the pop culture of twelve years ago is baffling, uncanny, affronting.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
12 Mar. 2026
-
Many Idaho liberals of all ages were especially affronted by the fact that the Israeli government paid for the lawmakers’ travel, said Olivia Luna, the president of Idaho’s Babe Vote, who signed the letter as an individual calling for Rubel’s resignation.—
Sarah Cutler,
Idaho Statesman,
30 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Zilis peppered her speech with unusual phrases and occasional sarcasm.—
David Ingram,
NBC news,
6 May 2026
-
Played with blistering sarcasm by Emily Blunt, the high-strung Runway magazine assistant had many of the most crackling one-liners in the original 2006 film.—
Patrick Ryan,
USA Today,
28 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
There’s a purity here, the course free from the taint of bureaucracy governing so much of the academy.—
Peter Wayne Moe,
Longreads,
26 Mar. 2026
-
So long-reaching was the taint of that shame, Kentucky’s Bill Spivey died in Costa Rica, a practical exile after he not only was run out of the college game, he was banned from the NBA, too.—
Dana O’Neil,
CNN Money,
18 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
In the fall, the workers trade in their pruning shears for knives sharp enough to skin a deer in minutes.—
Craig Shoup,
Nashville Tennessean,
28 Nov. 2025
-
Today there’s a rich universe of supplemental Pynchon material ranging from prose only an English PhD could unpack, to sharp analysis that makes the experience of reading Pynchon communal and fun.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
7 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
For his followers, blaspheming the Holocaust and celebrating Hitler became a way to signal contempt for the political religion of postwar liberalism.—
Antonia Hitchens,
New Yorker,
6 Apr. 2026
-
How to say anything about The Changeling without blaspheming its deep mystery, its reverence for the unspeakable, animal heart of creation?—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
10 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Slur.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/slur. Accessed 11 May. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
