smear

C2+ Topic:Actions & Processes

US /smɪr/ UK /smɪə/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

verb
to spread a substance messily; to slander someone

Mud was smeared across the windshield of the truck.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to spread a substance... daub smudge spread slander defame besmirch vilify tarnish

Opposites

clean wipe praise exonerate

Word family

Forms smeary

Derived forms smearysmearersmeariness

Simplified etymology

Smear comes from Old English smeoru, associated with applying ointment or grease. Its figurative use for an attempt to discredit someone dates from the mid-16th century.

Etymology

From Old English smerian, smierwan ('to anoint, smear with grease'), from the noun smeoru ('fat, grease'), from Proto-Germanic *smerwą, from Proto-Indo-European *smeru- ('grease, fat').

smeoru Old English *smerwą Proto-Germanic *smeru- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Actions & Processes Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# smear

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** /smɪr/
**IPA (UK):** /smɪə/

## Meanings
1. to spread a substance messily; to slander someone

## Examples
- Mud was smeared across the windshield of the truck.

## Synonyms
- daub
- smudge
- spread
- slander
- defame
- besmirch
- vilify
- tarnish

## Antonyms
- clean
- wipe
- praise
- exonerate

## Derived Forms
- smeary
- smearer
- smeariness

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: smeoru
- Root: *smerwą
- Root: *smeru-

## Etymology
From Old English smerian, smierwan ('to anoint, smear with grease'), from the noun smeoru ('fat, grease'), from Proto-Germanic *smerwą, from Proto-Indo-European *smeru- ('grease, fat').

## AI Etymology
Smear comes from Old English smerian, smierwan ('to anoint, smear with grease'), from the noun smeoru ('fat, grease'), from Proto-Germanic *smerwą, from Proto-Indo-European *smeru- ('grease, fat'). The historical chain includes Old English smeoru, Proto-Germanic *smerwą, and Proto-Indo-European *smeru-. Older glosses in the chain include "to anoint, smear with grease", "fat, grease", and "grease, fat", which help explain the semantic range of the modern word. Morphologically, smear is best read as borrowing, yielding an English verb and noun shaped by both form history and later usage. In current English it functions as a verb and noun, with the sense "to spread a substance messily; to slander someone". English derivatives include smeary, smearer, and smeariness. The result is an English verb and noun whose etymology preserves the older forms while supporting the word's specialized modern meaning.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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