TARRED Synonyms: 59 Similar and Opposite Words

tarred

verb

past tense of tar

as in smeared

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for tarred

Verb

Camille can still picture Burke standing over her, fake blood smeared across her dress.

— Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 5 Aug. 2026
There’s rarely anything as straightforward as a kick drum, a hi-hat, or even a bassline here; instead, everything is smeared, all origins occulted in a thicket of echoes and reflections.

— Philip Sherburne, Pitchfork, 4 Aug. 2026

Definition of smeared

Verb

Well-loved and used items that are broken, damaged beyond repair, unsafe, or heavily stained or soiled should be thrown out.

— Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 29 Aug. 2026
Lamb checked out of the room the next day, and a housekeeper found three large trash bags filled with bloody towels and linens that were also soiled with human waste, according to the report.

— David Goodhue August 21, Miami Herald, 21 Aug. 2026

Definition of soiled

Verb

Shortly after Palace’s next match had finished, a defeat by Everton on the opening weekend of the new season, his reputation among the supporters had been sullied again.

— Matt Woosnam, New York Times, 25 Aug. 2026
Such shenanigans are more or less expected, and certainly haven’t forever sullied the American soccer fan base, at least here at home.

— Jay Caspian Kang, New Yorker, 7 July 2026

Definition of sullied

Verb

Our state has thousands of sites already polluted with toxic chemicals and other pollutants, and those projects affect air quality, safe drinking water and community health for millions of Californians.

— Shannon Olivieri Hovis, Mercury News, 18 Aug. 2026
Greenpeace Germany warned that oil has already polluted stretches of coastline and damaged the area's fragile ecosystem.

— Stephen Sorace, FOXNews.com, 2 Aug. 2026

Definition of polluted

Verb

In June, Marius Borg Høiby, 29, was sentenced to four years in prison after being found guilty of rape and domestic violence after a seven-week trial that further tarnished the family’s reputation.

— Billy Stockwell, CNN Money, 28 Aug. 2026
The Iran-contra scandal in the mid-1980s badly tarnished Ronald Reagan’s foreign policy record.

— Nate Swanson, Foreign Affairs, 25 Aug. 2026

Definition of tarnished

Verb

Corbin uses cabbage as an anchor in his new and expanding Rolodex of flavors, thrusting it into the fire until the outer layers are blackened and frizzled.

— Jenn Harris, Los Angeles Times, 27 Aug. 2026
Timber Fire Monterey County’s Timber Fire burning near Big Sur has blackened nearly 2,500 acres since its start Monday afternoon and is 5% contained.

— Darrell Smith, Sacbee.com, 11 Aug. 2026

Definition of blackened

Verb

Inglessis applies liner near the lash line—easily smudged for a day-to-night look—while Baker, a huge mascara advocate, considers a single coat (if that) all that’s necessary.

— Calin Van Paris, InStyle, 4 Sep. 2026
The Bobbi Brown side had faded less and hadn’t smudged as much beneath my lower lash line, which is usually the first area to start running.

— Beth Sobol, Flow Space, 2 Sep. 2026

Definition of smudged

Verb

But Reese and her Dream teammates tainted the historic night during the final 20 seconds.

— Dan Zaksheske OutKick, FOXNews.com, 25 Aug. 2026
In July, the US was hit with a wave of explosive diarrhea caused by an outbreak of cyclospora, a parasite that spreads through food and water tainted with human feces.

— Maggie Harrison Dupré, Futurism, 20 Aug. 2026

Definition of tainted

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.

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tarns

tarred

tarried

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“Tarred.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tarred. Accessed 7 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of tarred

verb

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