as in stained
not clean
every copy of the book that the store had was smudged
Synonyms & Similar Words
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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
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Recent Examples of smudged
Lara Walsh, InStyle, 26 Feb. 2026
Then move on to large appliance fronts—specifically, those stainless steel fridges and ovens that are easily smudged.
—Patricia Shannon, Southern Living, 13 Feb. 2026
Or, show your burning desire with Byredo’s Burning Rose Candle and a refillable lipstick set (which will be lovingly smudged by the end of the night).
—Essence, 30 Jan. 2026
The workers’ uniforms are smudged with stains earned underneath a car, wrench in hand.
—Daniel Miller, Los Angeles Times, 6 Jan. 2026
The ink had smudged in a few places.
—Alex Zietlow, Charlotte Observer, 2 Jan. 2026
That painting is a lot more smudged.
—Melinda Sheckells, HollywoodReporter, 19 Dec. 2025
Despite that galaxy appearing smudged over just a handful of pixels, astronomers are still able to discern something about the supernova’s galactic environment.
—Keith Cooper, Space.com, 9 Dec. 2025
Without lenses or glasses, everything looks blurry and smudged.
—Billboard Korea, Billboard, 26 Nov. 2025
Verb
Meanwhile, at the Milan Fashion Week show, the star embraced an edgy aesthetic with a messy low ponytail and smudged black eyeliner with smoky navy eyeshadow.
—Lara Walsh, InStyle, 26 Feb. 2026
Then move on to large appliance fronts—specifically, those stainless steel fridges and ovens that are easily smudged.
—Patricia Shannon, Southern Living, 13 Feb. 2026
Or, show your burning desire with Byredo’s Burning Rose Candle and a refillable lipstick set (which will be lovingly smudged by the end of the night).
—Essence, 30 Jan. 2026
The workers’ uniforms are smudged with stains earned underneath a car, wrench in hand.
—Daniel Miller, Los Angeles Times, 6 Jan. 2026
The ink had smudged in a few places.
—Alex Zietlow, Charlotte Observer, 2 Jan. 2026
That painting is a lot more smudged.
—Melinda Sheckells, HollywoodReporter, 19 Dec. 2025
Despite that galaxy appearing smudged over just a handful of pixels, astronomers are still able to discern something about the supernova’s galactic environment.
—Keith Cooper, Space.com, 9 Dec. 2025
Without lenses or glasses, everything looks blurry and smudged.
—Billboard Korea, Billboard, 26 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for smudged
Adjective
-
Inside, there are 13 stained glass windows alternating in red or blue color with white limestone walls in between.—
Nikki DeMentri,
CBS News,
2 Apr. 2026
-
Firefighters made a hole with an axe just above the entrance to let the thick black smoke flow out and to avoid breaking the eight stained glass windows along the sides of the structure.—
Martin E. Comas,
The Orlando Sentinel,
21 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Oil rushed through the sediment and rock and blackened the water.—
Jeffrey Marlow,
New Yorker,
5 Apr. 2026
-
My father’s thumb was huge and blackened.—
Kate Crane,
Rolling Stone,
2 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Cape Canaveral is no dusty history tour.—
Maureen O'Hare,
CNN Money,
4 Apr. 2026
-
No amount of inner toughness would have convinced a customer to bring in a dusty rug in May 2020.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
31 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
When stormwater dirtied by road runoff, failing septic tanks and fertilizer sullied crystal-clear rivers and lakes, and nobody cared.—
Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board,
The Orlando Sentinel,
11 Jan. 2026
-
Garments can be dirtied again by the elements if air-dried outside.—
Mary Cornetta,
Better Homes & Gardens,
20 Dec. 2025
Adjective
-
Kilitch Healthcare had serious quality lapses, in which the facility was filthy, employees were barefoot on the manufacturing floor and the company fraudulently passed products that failed sterility tests.—
C. Michael White,
The Conversation,
7 Apr. 2026
-
Common areas are often filthy, and increasingly populated by drug users.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
3 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
One woman was paying $600 per month to live in a storage shed in the muddy backyard cluttered with junk and dotted with dog poop.—
Carol Marbin Miller,
Miami Herald,
2 Apr. 2026
-
The ceasefire picture is muddier than the public posturing suggests.—
Eva Roytburg,
Fortune,
1 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
The five fabulous transfers who make up coach Dusty May’s starting lineup got down and dirty with the rest of the Wolverines to dig out the national championship on Monday.—
Senior Editor,
Los Angeles Times,
7 Apr. 2026
-
And speaking of windows, Wiseman said that the windows of Orion are already dirty because the crew enjoyed looking out of them so much.—
Jacopo Prisco,
CNN Money,
7 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Thick black smoke rose near the city's Azadi Square after one airstrike hit the grounds of the Sharif University of Technology.—
Lucia I Suarez Sang,
CBS News,
7 Apr. 2026
-
Another target was Dario Amodei, a biophysicist and a font of frenetic energy who has a tendency to nervously twist his black hair, and responds to one-line e-mails with multi-paragraph essays.—
Ronan Farrow,
New Yorker,
6 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Smudged.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/smudged. Accessed 9 Apr. 2026.
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