as in to stain
to make dirty
she accidentally smudged her collar with the lipstick
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in stain
a mark of guilt or disgrace
the president's spouse must not have the slightest smudge of scandal
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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.
Recent Examples of smudge
Alesandra Dubin, Travel + Leisure, 28 May 2025
Pade paints directly onto the canvas without a preparatory drawing, often smudging areas of the canvas with a cloth at the end of a day in her Paris studio.
—Lee Sharrock, Forbes.com, 23 May 2025
Conçetta Ciarlo, Vogue, 9 Apr. 2025
Additionally, paper towels aren't great at removing tough stains, such as fingerprint smudges or grease buildup, which often accumulates on appliance handles.
—Mary Cornetta, Better Homes & Gardens, 15 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for smudge
Verb
They can get warped by humidity, smudged with sunscreen, or crumpled in the bottom of a tote.
—Alesandra Dubin, Travel + Leisure, 28 May 2025
Pade paints directly onto the canvas without a preparatory drawing, often smudging areas of the canvas with a cloth at the end of a day in her Paris studio.
—Lee Sharrock, Forbes.com, 23 May 2025
Noun
After 30 to 60 seconds under a UV lamp, your manicure is smudge proof and long-wearing.
—Conçetta Ciarlo, Vogue, 9 Apr. 2025
Additionally, paper towels aren't great at removing tough stains, such as fingerprint smudges or grease buildup, which often accumulates on appliance handles.
—Mary Cornetta, Better Homes & Gardens, 15 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for smudge
Recent Examples of Synonyms for smudge
Verb
-
As both business owner and head baker — her black chef’s coat is usually powdered with flour, her hands stained with icing — Vee won’t have time this June to participate in the Chicago Pride Parade.—
Sophie Levenson,
Chicago Tribune,
17 June 2025
-
The team that would replace us would be stained, football would be stained.—
Felipe Cardenas,
New York Times,
17 June 2025
Noun
-
That realization tends to color behavior, and taints the findings.—
Abhimanyu Ghoshal,
New Atlas,
17 June 2025
-
In his podcast on The Daily Wire this week, conservative commentator Ben Shapiro cited the taint of the jet deal and called on his listeners to honestly consider its implications.—
Howard LaFranchi,
Christian Science Monitor,
15 May 2025
Verb
-
And for nights when you can't be bothered to dirty a million dishes just to get dinner on the table, there's an air fryer from Ninja.—
Sarah Felbin,
SELF,
23 May 2025
-
Crème Brûlée Steve Granitz Crème brûlée is like butter blonde, but dirtied up a bit for a browned, warm tint.—
Audrey Noble,
Vogue,
2 May 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,
21 Apr. 2025
-
Add a bit more color to the corners of the lips, then use your fingers to blot and blur the edges, as needed.—
Conçetta Ciarlo,
Vogue,
4 Feb. 2025
Verb
-
Nearly five years after a massive fire burned California’s oldest state park, Big Basin Redwoods, blackening groves of famous ancient redwoods and destroying all the campgrounds, the visitor center and other facilities, state parks officials have finalized a plan to rebuild.—
Paul Rogers,
Mercury News,
19 June 2025
-
Lightning had struck a single ponderosa pine, blackening its trunk.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
18 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Smudge.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/smudge. Accessed 2 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share