slurs 1 of 2

noun

plural of slur
1
as in insults
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

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in stains
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

slurs

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of slur
1
as in trills

Related Words
2
as in affronts

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 slurs
Noun
In one case reviewed by The Marshall Project, an incarcerated man reported being pepper-sprayed, choked, beaten with a baton and repeatedly called racial slurs by Kentucky officers who were later convicted. — Christie Thompson, NPR, 13 July 2026 News outlets uncovered years-old comments on Reddit that appeared to endorse political violence, dismiss rape in the military, criticize rural Americans and use anti-gay slurs. — Kimberlee Kruesi, Los Angeles Times, 9 July 2026 During the Cape Verde–versus-Argentina game, the YouTuber and Twitch streamer recorded a woman yelling racial slurs at him during the game. — Alejandra Gularte, Vulture, 7 July 2026 The crew and the two witnesses said one of the three men got out with a dog and then moved aggressively towards the crew while shouting racial slurs targeted at the photographer. — Jeramie Bizzle, CBS News, 2 July 2026 Bonner shared screenshots with The Athletic’s Annie Costabile of texts, direct messages and social media comments that included racial slurs and death threats to her family – some of which included her home address. — Brian Hamilton, New York Times, 2 July 2026 Thomas, 34, said that in the aftermath of the game she and her family have been threatened and that she has been called racial slurs. — Henderson Hewes, ABC News, 1 July 2026 My dad’s stories about his grade-school experience felt like dark fables, peppered with slurs hurled at him by classmates. — Rachel Tepper Paley, Bon Appetit Magazine, 1 July 2026 One of the suspects directed a dog to attack a 54-year-old man while yelling slurs, police said. — Tess Kenny, Chicago Tribune, 30 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for slurs
  1. insults
  2. stains
  3. trills
  4. sarcasms
  5. blots
  6. croons
  7. stigmas
  8. hums
Noun
  • Musk and Altman have repeatedly traded blows in recent years, mocking each other’s businesses and lobbing personal insults.
    — Antonio Pequeño IV, Forbes.com, 11 July 2026
  • The insults often accompany reports and even videos of kids and teens engaging in reckless riding — weaving through traffic, running stop signs, ignoring pedestrians, and performing stunts like wheelies in opposing lanes, sometimes without helmets.
    — Théoden Janes, Charlotte Observer, 7 July 2026
Definition of insults
Noun
  • Orkin recommends inspecting hotel rooms before unpacking by checking mattresses and furniture for live bugs, shed skins, tiny eggs or dark, ink-like stains.
    — Anthony Thompson, USA Today, 7 July 2026
  • Online photos from the home’s listing posted on the Good Neighbors Investors website in 2024 show dark stains and mold across the walls and floor of the home.
    — Sacbee.com, Sacbee.com, 7 July 2026
Definition of stains
Verb
  • McGill’s superbly nuanced calls, runs, and trills elicited commentary from a second audience, perched in the trees above—a colloquium of finches, towhees, titmice, kingbirds, juncos, and Eurasian collared doves.
    — Alex Ross, New Yorker, 29 June 2026
  • Musselwhite punctuated the music with his harmonica trills and moans while his right knee bounced in time with the rhythms.
    — Kevin McKeough, Chicago Tribune, 7 June 2026
Definition of trills
Noun
  • First seen at a night-club table of menacing lowlifes, Ida, whose mother tongue is Brooklynese, suddenly switches to a heavy British accent and dispenses a torrent of highly literary sarcasms.
    — Richard Brody, New Yorker, 4 Mar. 2026
Definition of sarcasms
Noun
  • Dabbing the cloth in rubbing alcohol, working away the dirty blots on the glass, waiting for the haze in my head to focus, and a new line to come to me.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 8 June 2026
  • One of the few blots on last summer’s Leeds copybook.
    — Tim Spiers, New York Times, 26 May 2026
Definition of blots
Verb
  • Richard Marx croons his way onto Billboard’s jazz charts for the first time in a career as a lead recording artist that dates back almost 40 years.
    — Gary Trust, Billboard, 26 Jan. 2026
  • Murray — beloved for iconic roles in Groundhog Day, Ghostbusters, Caddyshack and other films — croons spirited renditions of timeless songs, from Bob Dylan to the Kinks to Tommy Tutone.
    — Travis Pinson, Dallas Morning News, 15 Jan. 2026
Definition of croons
Noun
  • The whole project ties together as a powerful critique of modern mental health stigmas and sexism, as history's witch hunts were byproducts of multiple layers of prejudice and misunderstanding.
    — Wesley Stenzel, Entertainment Weekly, 5 June 2026
  • Social-media platforms are filled with short-form videos that clumsily grapple with stigmas surrounding height supremacy.
    — Brady Brickner-Wood, New Yorker, 4 June 2026
Definition of stigmas
Verb
  • This deck area positively hums with IG brunch-scene potential.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 23 June 2026
  • To prevent its data centers from overheating, SpaceX plans to adopt liquid cooling, but not the kind that hums inside your desktop PC.
    — Michael Kan, PC Magazine, 9 June 2026
Definition of hums

Browse Nearby Words

slurring (over)
slurs
slurs (over)
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Cite this Entry

“Slurs.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/slurs. Accessed 17 Jul. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on slurs

Nglish: Translation of slurs for Spanish Speakers

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