1
as in painted
to rub an oily or sticky substance over
the toddler gleefully smeared her hair and face with maple syrup
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in libeled
to make untrue and harmful statements about
he is willing to smear his opponent if doing so would win the election
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of smeared
Grainy mustard smeared on a chunk of corned beef is delicious too.
—
Tribune Content Agency, Baltimore Sun, 4 Mar. 2026
Cops called to the scene found blood smeared on the stairwell from the third floor to the second, and more blood smeared on the walls in the second-floor hallway.
—Rebecca White, New York Daily News, 28 Feb. 2026
Snack on apple slices smeared with nut butter.
—Jillian Kubala, Health, 26 Feb. 2026
Why are my windows still smeared after cleaning?
—Sharon Brandwein, USA Today, 24 Feb. 2026
Investigators found blood on a windowsill outside the first-floor condo and more blood smeared on the walls and windows, the DA's office said.
—Tom Ignudo, CBS News, 18 Feb. 2026
And he has absolutely been falsely called and smeared as a racist.
—ABC News, 18 Feb. 2026
Robert Pattinson is unrecognizable with a long blonde hair transformation and lipstick smeared all over his face in a new photoshoot.
—Rachel Burchfield, InStyle, 17 Feb. 2026
Outdated Vanity Lights Is your vanity light caked in dust and smeared with eight different paint colors from two decades of DIY paint jobs?
—Marisa Suzanne Martin, The Spruce, 16 Feb. 2026
Tribune Content Agency, Baltimore Sun, 4 Mar. 2026
Cops called to the scene found blood smeared on the stairwell from the third floor to the second, and more blood smeared on the walls in the second-floor hallway.
—Rebecca White, New York Daily News, 28 Feb. 2026
Snack on apple slices smeared with nut butter.
—Jillian Kubala, Health, 26 Feb. 2026
Why are my windows still smeared after cleaning?
—Sharon Brandwein, USA Today, 24 Feb. 2026
Investigators found blood on a windowsill outside the first-floor condo and more blood smeared on the walls and windows, the DA's office said.
—Tom Ignudo, CBS News, 18 Feb. 2026
And he has absolutely been falsely called and smeared as a racist.
—ABC News, 18 Feb. 2026
Robert Pattinson is unrecognizable with a long blonde hair transformation and lipstick smeared all over his face in a new photoshoot.
—Rachel Burchfield, InStyle, 17 Feb. 2026
Outdated Vanity Lights Is your vanity light caked in dust and smeared with eight different paint colors from two decades of DIY paint jobs?
—Marisa Suzanne Martin, The Spruce, 16 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for smeared
Verb
-
An in-depth study of the work, including macro X-ray fluorescence scans and comparisons with other works by the artist, confirmed Rembrandt painted it, said the museum’s curator of 17th century Dutch paintings, Jonathan Bikker.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
2 Mar. 2026
-
Her likeness, donning her park ranger uniform, has been painted into a mural on Richmond’s 23rd Street, and her name graces a school building in the West Contra Costa Unified School District.—
Sierra Lopez,
Mercury News,
2 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
But this pork chop, coated in a fruity and smoky guajillo barbecue sauce and pooled with a sweet habanero butter sauce, made up for any feelings of neglect.—
Matthew Odam,
Austin American Statesman,
2 Mar. 2026
-
Eleven years later, Ajo resident Bill Eltzroth complained to the county and ADEQ that the facility’s operations coated his back porch in thick black dust.—
Sarah Henry,
AZCentral.com,
1 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Iran’s two major adversaries have thoroughly humiliated it; the regime was not able to hide its reclusive leader for even a few hours.—
Arash Azizi,
The Atlantic,
1 Mar. 2026
-
Most casual fans could spend their entire lives studying a library’s worth of chess theory, only to still be routinely humiliated by competitive players.—
Andrew Paul,
Popular Science,
26 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
The Place de la République in Paris was daubed in swastikas and anti-Semitic slogans last Sunday after a neo-Nazi rally, and offices of France Unbowed have been attacked.—
Tim Lister,
CNN Money,
21 Feb. 2026
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Ryvchin, whose former home was daubed with antisemitic language and cars were set alight earlier this year, said both Australia’s federal government and provincial leaders in the state of New South Wales had failed to act on proposals to curb antisemitic violence.—
Katie Silver,
NBC news,
25 Dec. 2025
Verb
-
The war is already disgraced by a monumental tragedy at the outset.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
2 Mar. 2026
-
Mandelson, known for his ability to spin stories and reënter the fold, has been disgraced before.—
Jonathan Blitzer,
New Yorker,
17 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Now, the ultimate question of whether Walters slandered Miller will return to the district court.—
Dale Denwalt,
Oklahoman,
29 Jan. 2026
-
Jerry Jones slandered my name to Cowboys media and national media for months.—
Jackson Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
1 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Journalists related stories to Brown of the future princess giving them the slip, joking with them, managing her media relations so she wouldn’t be overexposed or maligned.—
Bailey Bujnosek,
InStyle,
23 Feb. 2026
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The company argued that the rules unfairly maligned its products, because nuts are too high in fat to qualify as healthy.—
Nicholas Florko,
The Atlantic,
22 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Worn Clothing Do not fill your dresser drawers with garments that have seen better days to the point that they're torn or stained.—
Sarah Lyon,
Southern Living,
6 Mar. 2026
-
Set in a landscape stained by red clay and bad blood, villainy is commonplace.—
Peter White,
Deadline,
5 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Smeared.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/smeared. Accessed 9 Mar. 2026.
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