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smudging

British

/ ˈsmʌdʒɪŋ /

noun

a traditional Native American method of using smoke from burning herbs to purify a space

"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

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The two women move around the room, burning herbs and shaking shamanic rattles while singing and chanting in a purification ritual known as "smudging".

From BBC • Oct. 12, 2025

That may not stop people from using sage or smudging it; I also have the sage I was gifted years ago by my best friend.

From Salon • Jan. 1, 2024

Previous attempts at putting the magazine on microfilm had resulted in barely legible pages marred by heavy black smudging, with some parts of pages missing or damaged.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 29, 2023

Researchers believe these early artists selected charcoal because it was the perfect medium, ideal for the smudging and blending techniques used in cave paintings.

From Scientific American • Jul. 4, 2023

Anat snorted, almost smudging the makeup as Molly worked.

From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny

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