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Synonyms

besmear

American  
[bih-smeer] / bɪˈsmɪər /

verb (used with object)

  1. to smear all over; bedaub.

  2. to sully; defile; soil.

    to besmear someone's reputation.
besmear British  
/ bɪˈsmɪə /

verb

  1. to smear over; daub

  2. to sully; defile (often in the phrase besmear ( a person's ) reputation )

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • besmearer noun
  • unbesmeared adjective

Etymology

Origin of besmear

before 1050; Middle English bismeren, Old English besmerian. See be-, smear

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.