as in stain
a mark of guilt or disgrace
corruption charges that were a smirch on her reputation
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in to stain
to make dirty
their clothes were smirched by dust from the trail
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to humiliate
to reduce to a lower standing in one's own eyes or in others' eyes
this scandal will forever smirch the name of a once-great family
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for smirch
Noun
-
Pre-treat any stains with a mild stain remover and blot with a dry white cloth to remove as much stain as possible prior to washing.—
Daley Quinn,
Southern Living,
12 Sep. 2025 -
This process lifts stains without increasing their surface area, which can be an issue when scrubbing by hand with a cloth or brush.—
Maggie Horton,
PEOPLE,
12 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
High-Heat-Safe Alternatives While enameled cast-iron cookware is excellent to use for braising, roasting, baking, or gentle stovetop cooking, certain high heat applications like searing steak or blackening fish are best done in other types of pans, like traditional cast iron or stainless steel.—
Katie Rosenhouse,
Southern Living,
10 Sep. 2025
-
Her boyfriend had hit her hard enough to blacken her eye.—
Krista Kafer,
Denver Post,
8 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Continually moving the goalposts or using testing to humiliate or control can cause relational harm.—
Mark Travers,
Forbes.com,
14 Sep. 2025
-
And Sacks, a PayPal Mafia member and veteran Silicon Valley investor, is just the sort of titan of industry this town routinely devours and humiliates — from Rex Tillerson to, well, Elon Musk.—
Ben Smith,
semafor.com,
8 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
The taint of it all has melted away.—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
7 Sep. 2025
-
The taint is caused when a chemical compound, 2,4,6-Trichloroanisole (TCA), interacts with bacteria or fungi in the wine bottle’s cork.—
Jeremy Harlan,
CNN Money,
16 July 2025
Verb
-
As more success suddenly comes his way, McKinstry has remained the same, friendly and chuckling at his locker, dirtying his jersey and pestering opponents on the field.—
Cody Stavenhagen,
New York Times,
10 July 2025
-
Some were prosthetic buttocks, but others were people’s own buttocks, but in various states, like dirtied down and with partial covering.—
Alex Ritman,
Variety,
1 July 2025
Verb
-
Holmes likewise discredited the MS-13 accusation, for which prosecutors relied on the testimony of coöperating witnesses who either contradicted one another or were otherwise unreliable.—
Cristian Farias,
New Yorker,
15 Sep. 2025
-
The Cordell report has since been discredited — missing transcripts, factual errors and even confusion of key witnesses.—
Matthew J. Frauenfeld,
Mercury News,
12 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Pretreat any stains with a stain remover of choice and blot with a dry white cloth to remove as much stain prior to washing.—
Daley Quinn,
Southern Living,
12 Sep. 2025
-
Wipe the area with a cloth dampened with cold water, then blot with a fresh sponge.—
The Washington Post,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
12 July 2025
Verb
-
The rules around grand jury secrecy shouldn’t be broken and care must be taken about revealing the identities of victims and besmirching the reputations of people mentioned incidentally in the vast investigative materials.—
The Editors,
National Review,
16 July 2025
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Other attempts to besmirch her also fell short — as in the 2024 election, when former Sen. Randolph Bracy launched an ugly attempt to oust her from the District 15 Senate seat.—
Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board,
Orlando Sentinel,
25 Feb. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Smirch.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/smirch. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.
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