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
Farran asked, gazing at their graves — cardboard signs smeared with handwritten Arabic because the war has made a proper burial in their village impossible.
—
Isabel Debre, Los Angeles Times, 30 Apr. 2026
Later on, Firecracker was tasked with addressing her church's destruction on television and smeared their reputation, betraying her former life and beliefs.
—Staff Author, PEOPLE, 29 Apr. 2026
Greenhaven had racked up years of health violations, including from letting untrained workers administer medications, lacking enough employees to care for people with dementia, and neglecting a resident who smeared feces over his body, bed, floor, and bathroom, the notice said.
—Jordan Rau, Miami Herald, 23 Apr. 2026
Many told me the liberal media had smeared them as racists, xenophobes and misogynists.
—Nataliya Gumenyuk, The Dial, 21 Apr. 2026
Lawyers for MacInnes have accused Wilson of hiring Melissa Nathan, the American publicist of The Agency Group, to launch websites that smeared Ghost.
—Jake Kanter, Deadline, 21 Apr. 2026
Greenhaven had racked up years of health violations, including from letting untrained workers administer medications, lacking enough employees to care for people with dementia, and neglecting a resident who smeared feces over his body, bed, floor, and bathroom, the notice said.
—Jordan Rau, NPR, 19 Apr. 2026
At the start of the short, paved trail, the green slopes appear smeared with vague suggestions of ocher and mauve.
—Alissa Greenberg, Mercury News, 13 Apr. 2026
One of the men smeared our foreheads with sandalwood paste, vermilion, and rice.
—Elizabeth Cantrell, Travel + Leisure, 7 Apr. 2026
Isabel Debre, Los Angeles Times, 30 Apr. 2026
Later on, Firecracker was tasked with addressing her church's destruction on television and smeared their reputation, betraying her former life and beliefs.
—Staff Author, PEOPLE, 29 Apr. 2026
Greenhaven had racked up years of health violations, including from letting untrained workers administer medications, lacking enough employees to care for people with dementia, and neglecting a resident who smeared feces over his body, bed, floor, and bathroom, the notice said.
—Jordan Rau, Miami Herald, 23 Apr. 2026
Many told me the liberal media had smeared them as racists, xenophobes and misogynists.
—Nataliya Gumenyuk, The Dial, 21 Apr. 2026
Lawyers for MacInnes have accused Wilson of hiring Melissa Nathan, the American publicist of The Agency Group, to launch websites that smeared Ghost.
—Jake Kanter, Deadline, 21 Apr. 2026
Greenhaven had racked up years of health violations, including from letting untrained workers administer medications, lacking enough employees to care for people with dementia, and neglecting a resident who smeared feces over his body, bed, floor, and bathroom, the notice said.
—Jordan Rau, NPR, 19 Apr. 2026
At the start of the short, paved trail, the green slopes appear smeared with vague suggestions of ocher and mauve.
—Alissa Greenberg, Mercury News, 13 Apr. 2026
One of the men smeared our foreheads with sandalwood paste, vermilion, and rice.
—Elizabeth Cantrell, Travel + Leisure, 7 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for smeared
Verb
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Emma Chamberlain, in her sixth year as a special correspondent for Vogue during the red carpet, is wearing a custom Mugler gown by Miguel Castro Freitas and hand painted by Anna Deller-Yee.—
Dalila Muata,
NBC news,
5 May 2026
-
Kayll painted her own take on the famous Monet water lily scene right on top her dress for the gala.—
Beatrice Dupuy,
Chicago Tribune,
5 May 2026
Verb
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An astounding 500 to 1,000 nails are used on each piece, which is coated with the signature canvas.—
Jacqui Gifford,
Travel + Leisure,
6 May 2026
-
Moss, sticks and other debris floated in the water while the South Sawyer Glacier, usually brilliant blue, was coated in a layer of dust.—
Megan I. Gannon,
Scientific American,
6 May 2026
Verb
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This Mets team, with the second-highest MLB payroll at $369 million, had just been humiliated by a franchise that lost 119 games a year ago.—
Joe Kinsey OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
27 Apr. 2026
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One such accusation resulted in a federal lawsuit filed in September in which the former head of the Colorado Division for the Deaf, Hard of Hearing and DeafBlind alleged DHS management humiliated and discriminated against him before forcing him out of his job.—
Katie Langford,
Denver Post,
24 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The burial ground and temple were unearthed when someone tried to build a drainage channel for a modern house; to prevent the dampness of visitors’ breath from damaging the extraordinary artworks daubed on the walls, entry is limited to 80 people per day.—
Mark Ellwood,
AFAR Media,
25 Feb. 2026
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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
Verb
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New Orleans has long been notorious for embracing such scoundrels, a reputation that isn’t exactly helped by the fact that, for many years, disgraced attorneys who lost their licenses in Louisiana and applied for readmission to the bar often got it.—
Patrick Radden Keefe,
New Yorker,
13 Apr. 2026
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These brands have pulled sponsorship of Wireless Festival, which disgraced itself recently by scheduling Ye (formerly Kanye West) to headline.—
Chris Willman,
Variety,
7 Apr. 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
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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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While Nelson Mandela became South Africa's first Black president and a global icon – having spent 27 years in jail for his role in the fight against apartheid – his wife Winnie, who was arguably just as instrumental in that fight, has been widely maligned.—
Kate Bartlett,
NPR,
2 May 2026
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Trump has repeatedly maligned Haitian immigrants, including falsely accusing Haitians living in Ohio of eating people’s pets.—
Maureen Groppe,
USA Today,
29 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Look for bins that are not coated or stained with toxic finishes.—
BestReviews,
Mercury News,
30 Apr. 2026
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On TikTok, short videos often show people traveling to Turkey to fix their uneven or stained teeth and transform their smiles.—
K.H. Koehler,
USA Today,
28 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Smeared.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/smeared. Accessed 8 May. 2026.
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