Word.ws English Dictionary

Synonyms of smudge

50 similar words

Another word for smudge is soil. Other synonyms of smudge are foul, spot, smear, sully and smut.

Synonyms and similar words for smudge

nounA blemish or smear, especially a dark or sooty one.

verbTo obscure by blurring; to smear.

  • smearTo make something dirty.

verbTo soil or smear with dirt.

  • befoulTo make foul; to soil; to contaminate, pollute.
  • soilTo make dirty.
  • beclart UK, dialectalTo besmear; bedaub; bemire; smear all over with dirt.
  • bedirtyTo dirty, soil; make dirty.
  • bedizen UK, dialectalTo make (someone or something) dirty; to bedaub, to besmear, to dirty.
  • begrimeTo ingrain grime or dirt which is difficult to remove into (something); also (more generally), to make (something)...
  • beshit figuratively, vulgarTo soil; to spoil; to defile; to befoul.
  • besmearTo smear over, to smear all over, to daub.
  • besmirchTo make dirty.
  • besullyTo make sullied or soiled; defile.
  • blackenTo make dirty.
  • blotTo impair; to damage; to mar; to soil.
  • clatTo dirty.
  • contaminateTo soil, stain, corrupt, or infect by contact or association.
  • darkenTo make foul; to sully; to tarnish.
  • defileTo make (someone or something) physically dirty or unclean; to befoul, to soil.
  • dirtenTo make or become dirty or soiled.
  • dirty
  • elt ScotlandTo begrime; soil with mud; daub; smear.
  • foulTo make dirty.
  • gunkTo soil or make dirty.
  • gunk upTo soil or dirty; to mess up; to clog.
  • inquinateTo pollute or make dirty.
  • scungeTo mark with scunge; to begrime or besmirch.
  • sling mud
  • slotterTo make filthy; to foul.
  • slurTo soil; to sully; to contaminate; to disgrace.
  • smirchTo dirty; to make dirty.
  • smutTo stain (or be stained) with soot or other dirt.
  • soss UK, dialectalTo soil; to make dirty.
  • spotTo stain; to leave a spot (on).
  • sullowTo sully.
  • sullyTo soil or stain; to dirty.
  • tarnishTo compromise, damage, soil, or sully.
  • assoil obsoleteTo make (something) dirty or soiled; to soil; to stain; to sully.
  • bedaub obsoleteTo smear upon; to soil.
  • imbrue (especially with blood) archaic, literary
  • befile obsoleteTo make filthy; befoul; soil.
  • befilth rareTo cover with filth; make filthy; begrime.
  • beray archaic, obsoleteTo make foul; befoul; soil.
  • bewray archaic, obsoleteTo soil or befoul; to beray.
  • file archaicTo defile.
  • foil obsoleteTo defile; to soil.
  • sowl obsoleteTo soil or stain; to dirty.
  • uggle UK, dialectalTo make dirty.

verbTo use dense smoke to protect from insects.

  • fumigateTo disinfect, purify, or rid of vermin with the fumes of certain chemicals.

Meaning of smudge

  1. noun A blemish or smear, especially a dark or sooty one.
  2. noun Dense smoke, such as that used for fumigation.
  3. noun A heap of damp combustibles partially ignited and burning slowly, placed on the windward side of a house, tent, etc. to keep off mosquitoes or other insects.

Full definition of smudge

smudge in other languages

Questions about synonyms of smudge

What is another word for smudge?
Smudge has 50 synonyms on Word.ws, such as soil, foul, spot, smear, sully, smut, defile and gunk.
What does smudge mean?
Smudge means a blemish or smear, especially a dark or sooty one.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: smudge (page history and authors) and the entries of the words listed. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws grouped the synonyms and antonyms by meaning and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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