as in stained
not clean
every copy of the book that the store had was smudged
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in blackened
to make dirty
she accidentally smudged her collar with the lipstick
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 smudged
Ashlyn Needham, Southern Living, 24 Oct. 2025
In an almost identical look, Tessa Thompson’s London Film Festival look was all about dark polish, black, smudged eye-corners and peach lips.
—Essence, 13 Oct. 2025
All the eye makeup, which there was a lot of, was smudged.
—Michael Schulman, New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2025
Krasznahorkai eventually found a global cult audience, who recognized his distinct ability to cloak anomie, violence, and resignation, smudged with a kind of gutter comedy, within a labyrinthine syntax.
—Walt Hunter, The Atlantic, 9 Oct. 2025
As Declan spoke, a player, eye black smudged, hair sopping, stopped and hugged his father tightly.
—Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 27 Sep. 2025
On the Blumarine spring 2026 runway in Milan on Friday, models tapped into their inner bohemian-fairy party girl personas with charcoal eyeliner smudged around their eyes, faded hues on their lips and tired waves in their hair.
—Kaleigh Werner, Footwear News, 26 Sep. 2025
The photo, shared to the r/Weird community, shows two distinct sets of small prints, eerily human-like, with long fingers, smudged onto a black shelf beneath rows of art and history books.
—Alice Gibbs, MSNBC Newsweek, 15 Sep. 2025
The tequila daisy cocktail, served in a clay cantarito cup smudged with sumac salt, is piquant with ancho verde, mellowed with summer strawberry.
—Rachel Bernhard, jsonline.com, 29 Aug. 2025
Verb
Take some time to go around to each window and remove cobwebs, dust, or dirt with your vacuum and brush attachment or a broom so these aren't smudged along your window during the cleaning process.
—Ashlyn Needham, Southern Living, 24 Oct. 2025
In an almost identical look, Tessa Thompson’s London Film Festival look was all about dark polish, black, smudged eye-corners and peach lips.
—Essence, 13 Oct. 2025
All the eye makeup, which there was a lot of, was smudged.
—Michael Schulman, New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2025
Krasznahorkai eventually found a global cult audience, who recognized his distinct ability to cloak anomie, violence, and resignation, smudged with a kind of gutter comedy, within a labyrinthine syntax.
—Walt Hunter, The Atlantic, 9 Oct. 2025
As Declan spoke, a player, eye black smudged, hair sopping, stopped and hugged his father tightly.
—Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 27 Sep. 2025
On the Blumarine spring 2026 runway in Milan on Friday, models tapped into their inner bohemian-fairy party girl personas with charcoal eyeliner smudged around their eyes, faded hues on their lips and tired waves in their hair.
—Kaleigh Werner, Footwear News, 26 Sep. 2025
The photo, shared to the r/Weird community, shows two distinct sets of small prints, eerily human-like, with long fingers, smudged onto a black shelf beneath rows of art and history books.
—Alice Gibbs, MSNBC Newsweek, 15 Sep. 2025
The tequila daisy cocktail, served in a clay cantarito cup smudged with sumac salt, is piquant with ancho verde, mellowed with summer strawberry.
—Rachel Bernhard, jsonline.com, 29 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for smudged
Adjective
-
The stained glass traces a hierarchy from the current dean to the Crown and then to God.—
Rick Burton,
Sportico.com,
6 Oct. 2025
-
Wood stained baseboards may need a gentler cleaning approach, such as Murphy’s Oil Soap, to protect the finish.—
Karen Brewer Grossman,
Southern Living,
19 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Skip any skins that look moldy, blackened, or spoiled.—
Cathy Cassata,
Health,
24 Oct. 2025
-
Day turned to night as thick, acrid clouds blackened the sky.—
Robert Wyss,
The Conversation,
21 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
This is not a dusty collection or hodgepodge of Gold Rush artifacts placed around a xeriscape.—
David Caraccio,
Sacbee.com,
25 Oct. 2025
-
The old shelves with their dusty cans were gone, replaced by three wooden pillars, each with a small platform at chest height.—
David Wingrave,
Harpers Magazine,
24 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
The ashes from the crematorium chimney covered the streets, sooted the rain, dirtied the snow, damaged the crops, infected every body.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
23 Oct. 2025
-
At Dilara Findikoglu, models looked like ladies in waiting that had risen from the dead; wearing antiquated corsetry that was dirtied and torn.—
Leah Dolan,
CNN Money,
23 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Jackson Lamb has long, greasy hair and a pot belly over which hangs a filthy old trench coat.—
Barbara Ellis,
Denver Post,
20 Oct. 2025
-
On the other end, Ja’Marr Chase is coming off an absolutely filthy touchdown grab last Sunday.—
Steven Louis Goldstein,
New York Times,
16 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
In tandem came the flagging energy, muddy cognition, clogged chi.—
Rowan Jacobsen,
Harpers Magazine,
24 Oct. 2025
-
Behind us the muddy brown waters of the Tchoutacabouffa River roll towards what until recently was commonly understood to be the Gulf of Mexico.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
22 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Two days later and nearly 400 miles to the west, good Samaritans found two baby girls crying on the dirty floor of a park restroom in the working-class coastal California city of Oxnard.—
Amanda Lee Myers,
USA Today,
21 Oct. 2025
-
Yellow or orange flames might indicate a problem with combustion or dirty burners.—
Lauren Bengtson,
Better Homes & Gardens,
21 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
North swapped out Tyler's pants for a matching miniskirt and added a microphone and a pair of black sunglasses to top off the look.—
Charlotte Phillipp,
PEOPLE,
26 Oct. 2025
-
On a late November evening, the troubled, melancholy Kate Morgan, was seen dressed in black facing crashing ocean waves fueled by a cold winter storm.—
Noreen Kompanik,
Boston Herald,
26 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Smudged.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/smudged. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share