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
-
Roborock Robot Vacuum and Mop Deals The Roborock Q10 S5+ is a heavy-hitting two-in-one vacuum and mop that tackles stubborn stains and deep carpet debris with a massive 10,000Pa suction and sonic mopping that scrubs 3,000 times per minute.—
Juhi Wadia,
PC Magazine,
25 Mar. 2026 -
Get rid of tough stains on carpet and upholstery with this compact, portable cleaner.—
BestReviews,
Chicago Tribune,
25 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Grace, her white lace dress blackened with blood, is smoking a cigarette outside of an incinerated mansion that belongs to her in-laws, the Le Domas, who are all dead.—
Amy Nicholson,
Los Angeles Times,
19 Mar. 2026
-
The Israeli strikes on oil facilities sparked massive pillars of fire and blackened the skies above Tehran.—
NPR Staff,
NPR,
11 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Well, everyone in show business has to humiliate themselves sometimes.—
Katherine Turman,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Mar. 2026
-
But some Cubans still revere the 1959 revolution, and, as one foreign official told us, have no desire to humiliate Raúl Castro (Fidel’s 94-year-old brother and a former president), or even Díaz-Canel, who is widely viewed as a weak bureaucrat.—
Sarah Fitzpatrick,
The Atlantic,
22 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Iran, a war targeting regime change and the destruction of its nuclear capacities — laudable goals — also has the suspicious taint of being all about oil.—
Markos Kounalakis,
Mercury News,
5 Mar. 2026
-
The taint of being part of the cheating 2017 Astros has worn off over the years, and Cubs fans are banging the drum for Bregman’s arrival, excited to have an offensive upgrade from Matt Shaw, who can still learn a lot from playing multiple positions and watching from the bench.—
Paul Sullivan,
Chicago Tribune,
15 Jan. 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
-
The Dublin congressman told KRON that the White House hopes to discredit him in the race as a frequent critic and to boost the chances of his Republican rivals.—
Don Sweeney,
Sacbee.com,
29 Mar. 2026
-
That is certainly one way to discredit someone.—
Mary Ann Grossmann,
Twin Cities,
28 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
But the blot on Sacramento State’s basketball resume is the road record.—
Joe Davidson,
Sacbee.com,
5 Mar. 2026
-
The left-back has started 123 of the last 125 games and 86 of the last 87, with the blot on his card arriving late last season when manager Oliver Glasner rested key players after Palace won the FA Cup.—
Gregg Evans,
New York Times,
2 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Imagine having the gall to besmirch the name of a young mother killed for trying to speak up for her neighbors or of an ICU nurse shot in the back for trying to tend to a woman who had been pepper-sprayed in the face.—
Sasha Abramsky,
Washington Post,
2 Feb. 2026
-
The lack of awards buzz shouldn’t besmirch Amanda Seyfried’s performance here, though, which is great.—
Savannah Salazar,
Vulture,
23 Jan. 2026
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Cite this Entry
“Smirch.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/smirch. Accessed 1 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
