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
Their clothes are smeared with mud, symbolizing the earthy, devotional spirit of the journey.
—
Cecilia Rodriguez, Forbes.com, 26 Jan. 2026
Elliot has a bloody nose, a mouth smeared with lipstick and is wearing a frilly pink bra and pants.
—Damon Wise, Deadline, 23 Jan. 2026
Poussin, smeared with garlic, sumac and red pepper paste, was unappealingly mealy.
—Bill Addison, Los Angeles Times, 22 Jan. 2026
Cofounder says he was smeared after quitting.
—Alexei Oreskovic, Fortune, 21 Jan. 2026
León was clothed, his garments smeared with Rivera’s blood.
—Mattha Busby, Rolling Stone, 16 Jan. 2026
The bread is fluffy, with pesto smeared throughout the inside and outside and melted cheese on top.
—Austin American Statesman, 15 Jan. 2026
Blood was smeared on the hood, roof and rear of the sedan.
—Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 12 Jan. 2026
Hadid appears beat up with a gash on her arm, dirt on her face, and smeared black eye makeup.
—Christina Perrier, InStyle, 8 Jan. 2026
Cecilia Rodriguez, Forbes.com, 26 Jan. 2026
Elliot has a bloody nose, a mouth smeared with lipstick and is wearing a frilly pink bra and pants.
—Damon Wise, Deadline, 23 Jan. 2026
Poussin, smeared with garlic, sumac and red pepper paste, was unappealingly mealy.
—Bill Addison, Los Angeles Times, 22 Jan. 2026
Cofounder says he was smeared after quitting.
—Alexei Oreskovic, Fortune, 21 Jan. 2026
León was clothed, his garments smeared with Rivera’s blood.
—Mattha Busby, Rolling Stone, 16 Jan. 2026
The bread is fluffy, with pesto smeared throughout the inside and outside and melted cheese on top.
—Austin American Statesman, 15 Jan. 2026
Blood was smeared on the hood, roof and rear of the sedan.
—Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 12 Jan. 2026
Hadid appears beat up with a gash on her arm, dirt on her face, and smeared black eye makeup.
—Christina Perrier, InStyle, 8 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for smeared
Verb
-
Fans were spoiled with 12 tracks of retro-inspired, plushy pop — and as the rollout suggested, the tracks painted a greater picture of Carpenter’s arduous dating experience, brought to life with production and writing support from acclaimed collaborators Jack Antonoff, John Ryan and Amy Allen.—
Meghan Mahar,
Billboard,
26 Jan. 2026
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On other issues, the Democratic contenders painted billionaires as a driving force behind economic inequality and political influence.—
Gromer Jeffers Jr,
Dallas Morning News,
26 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Transfer Dough to a large bowl coated with baking spray, turning to grease top; cover with plastic wrap, and let stand in a warm place (75°F) until doubled in size, 1 to 1 hour, 30 minutes.—
Kimberly Holland,
Southern Living,
3 Feb. 2026
-
Paired with the Country Fried Steak, an 8-ounce beef steak lightly coated, fried, and topped with white gravy, the table has something substantial that holds up as the game stretches on.—
Staff Report,
Hartford Courant,
30 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Days after the segment was recorded, Schmitz shot Amedure to death, then confessed to the murder, saying he'd been humiliated on national TV.—
Randall Colburn,
Entertainment Weekly,
29 Jan. 2026
-
During the flight, she’s thoroughly humiliated when someone finds her audition tape for Survivor and displays it on his laptop for all to enjoy.—
Frank Scheck,
HollywoodReporter,
26 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
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
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The walls at the Museum of Contemporary Art North Miami are daubed with rosy-red pigment from the Cochineal, a cactus-dwelling insect her mother would harvest and sell in her hometown of Ayacucho, Peru.—
Douglas Markowitz,
Miami Herald,
19 Dec. 2025
Verb
-
Trump denied ever visiting the island owned by the deceased and disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.—
Washington Examiner Staff,
The Washington Examiner,
2 Feb. 2026
-
Last month, the DOJ released another cache of Epstein files, which underlined Mountbatten-Windsor’s relationship with not only Epstein but Epstein’s then-girlfriend, disgraced former British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell.—
Kara Fox,
CNN Money,
31 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Jerry Jones slandered my name to Cowboys media and national media for months.—
Jackson Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
1 Jan. 2026
-
Dearborn has often been slandered for simply coexisting peacefully, because the truth is, some people are uncomfortable, and frankly upset about seeing church steeples and mosque domes share the same skyline on roads.—
Niraj Warikoo,
Freep.com,
24 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Is Spider-Man 3 fairly or unfairly maligned?—
James Grebey,
Vulture,
31 Jan. 2026
-
Texas has been maligned for its lack of bench production this season, but Lassina Traore, Chendall Weaver and Simeon Wilcher have all been on the court during this decisive late run.—
Thomas Jones,
Austin American Statesman,
31 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The liquid stained Omar's clothes and may have reached her eye.—
Aki Nace,
CBS News,
29 Jan. 2026
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In testing on human teeth that were artificially stained with tea and coffee, the researchers found that a total of four hours of brushing showed visible whitening, while 12 total hours of brushing led to teeth that were nearly 50% whiter than those in a control group.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
27 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Smeared.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/smeared. Accessed 7 Feb. 2026.
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