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
-
Use a baking soda paste to help with stubborn stains.—
Brandee Gruener,
Southern Living,
3 June 2026 -
Protagonist Jo’s mother disappeared when Jo was a teen, tainting her daughter with the stain of possible witchcraft.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
2 June 2026
Verb
-
The shrimp basket at B&J's Steak and Seafood includes a half pound of shrimp fried, grilled, blackened or boiled.—
Bill Dawers - For the AJC,
AJC.com,
2 June 2026
-
Look for blackened, dim, and flickering bulbs during your inspections and replace those as well.—
Brandee Gruener,
Southern Living,
2 June 2026
Verb
-
As long as Iran doesn’t humiliate Trump by restarting its nuclear program, the president can call it a win.—
Thomas Wright,
The Atlantic,
4 June 2026
-
In the ongoing fight for women’s equal rights, Pawol had proved a female baseball umpire can be second-guessed, proved wrong and humiliated by technology and mocked by howling fans on social media just like a man can.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
2 June 2026
Noun
-
The prosecutor’s subjective good faith does not cure the retaliatory taint.—
Antonio Pequeño IV,
Forbes.com,
22 May 2026
-
The good news is that the gala survived its Bezos taint.—
Culture Critic,
Los Angeles Times,
5 May 2026
Verb
-
But as filming continued, Pidgeon appeared to dirty her butter blond with caramel and chocolate shades similar to Bessette-Kennedy’s, thanks to stylist Kari Hill.—
Kaleigh Werner,
Footwear News,
25 Feb. 2026
-
With the help of your Instant Pot, spaghetti and meatballs come together in under an hour without dirtying multiple dishes.—
Jenna Sims,
Southern Living,
24 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
After the war, his goalscoring statistics were deleted and his achievements were discredited, with the Polish press labelling him as mentally unstable and an alcoholic.—
Tim Spiers,
New York Times,
1 June 2026
-
Hit men are dispatched, homicide takes hold, and a smear campaign is hatched to discredit Zaminsky as faking signals to keep his SETI gig.—
Jeff Spry,
Space.com,
31 May 2026
Noun
-
One of the few blots on last summer’s Leeds copybook.—
Tim Spiers,
New York Times,
26 May 2026
-
Then, blot-dry excess moisture with clean paper towels or extract with a wet/dry vacuum.—
Louise Parks,
Martha Stewart,
21 May 2026
Verb
-
In her response, Hajdini cast Rana as manipulative and deceitful, intent on ruining her life and besmirching her employer through his sensational accusations.—
David Chiu,
PEOPLE,
28 May 2026
-
Bryna Laub, editor of Daytime Serial Newsletter, felt the show besmirched the sanctity of soaps and contributed to the broader currents of shame surrounding the genre.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
18 May 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Smirch.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/smirch. Accessed 8 Jun. 2026.
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