smudgy

[ smuhj-ee ]

adjective

, smudg·i·er, smudg·i·est.

1. marked with smudges; smeared; smeary.
2. emitting a stifling smoke; smoky.
3. British Dialect. humid; sweltering; sultry.

smudgy

/ smʌdʒɪ /

adjective

1. smeared, blurred, or soiled, or likely to become so
2. made deliberately indistinct or cloudy

   smudgy colours

Derived Forms

• ˈsmudginess, noun

Other Words From

• smudgi·ly adverb
• smudgi·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of smudgy¹

First recorded in 1840–50; smudge + -y ¹

Example Sentences

“I’m a simple girl and I like smudgy makeup. It’s something that’s part of my character. I don’t like perfect s—, especially when it comes to my music and my life,” De Miguel said.

From Los Angeles Times

The cookies had stuck to one another, and when I pried them apart, I was left with smudgy cookies with sad, pink bald spots showing through the coating.

From Washington Post

The aqueous picture, whose smudgy core mingles brown and deep green, memorializes the Lenape natives who once settled the harbor area, and also invokes the recent birth of the painter’s child.

From Washington Post

“Show Your Hand” memorializes the incident with an artfully smudgy rendering of the athlete and a set of 15 small paintings of the audience at the tournament.

From Washington Post

With their smudgy lines and soft colors, the paintings have the contours of realism while also dabbling in abstraction.

From New York Times