as in stain
a mark of guilt or disgrace corruption charges that were a smirch on her reputation
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in to stain
to make dirty their clothes were smirched by dust from the trail
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2
as in to humiliate
to reduce to a lower standing in one's own eyes or in others' eyes this scandal will forever smirch the name of a once-great family
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for smirch
Noun
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How to Spot Clean a Puffer Jacket No matter what your puffer is filled with, spot cleaning is a safe and easy way to refresh it and is ideal for small stains.—
Katie Cloyd, Martha Stewart, 22 Apr. 2026
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Besides adding fresh flavor to seafood and classic cocktails, powering bathroom scouring, and removing stains, lemon peels can also benefit your plants.— Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 21 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The benches are blackened with age, strewn with tools.— Tim Parks, New Yorker, 11 Apr. 2026
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Juicy, whole lobster served grilled or blackened is best, though the menu at this famous haunt features every possible iteration of the dish.— Carley Rojas Avila, Travel + Leisure, 9 Apr. 2026
Verb
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And the President doesn’t seem to mind if Vance humiliates himself running errands.— Amy Davidson Sorkin, New Yorker, 18 Apr. 2026
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The series follows Sabrina (Ayres), who is humiliated and emotionally devastated after being betrayed by her boyfriend.— Ed Meza, Variety, 17 Apr. 2026
Noun
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There’s a purity here, the course free from the taint of bureaucracy governing so much of the academy.— Peter Wayne Moe, Longreads, 26 Mar. 2026
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So long-reaching was the taint of that shame, Kentucky’s Bill Spivey died in Costa Rica, a practical exile after he not only was run out of the college game, he was banned from the NBA, too.— Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 18 Mar. 2026
Verb
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But as filming continued, Pidgeon appeared to dirty her butter blond with caramel and chocolate shades similar to Bessette-Kennedy’s, thanks to stylist Kari Hill.— Kaleigh Werner, Footwear News, 25 Feb. 2026
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With the help of your Instant Pot, spaghetti and meatballs come together in under an hour without dirtying multiple dishes.— Jenna Sims, Southern Living, 24 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Robert Brulle, a visiting professor at Brown University who studies fossil fuel lobbying, said ExxonMobil led efforts to discredit climate science that successfully impeded government intervention.— Alex Kuffner, USA Today, 15 Apr. 2026
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New science and forensics have since discredited the expert’s conclusion, prompting Gurley to throw out the convictions and order a new trial.— Shelly Bradbury, Denver Post, 13 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Spot Clean Stains For sweat stains, urine or spills, blot the area with a clean cloth and a mild cleaning solution.— Lauren Jarvis-Gibson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 10 Apr. 2026
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The broad scenario is one in which Iran is, at best, a minor blot in the rearview mirror as America’s interests move elsewhere.— Fintan O’Toole, The New York Review of Books, 9 Apr. 2026
Verb
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And thus one of the more wholesome and fun events in the White House calendar was besmirched by a man who simply cannot stop with the zero-sum partisan nonsense even when surrounded by impressionable young faces.— The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 8 Apr. 2026
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Imagine having the gall to besmirch the name of a young mother killed for trying to speak up for her neighbors or of an ICU nurse shot in the back for trying to tend to a woman who had been pepper-sprayed in the face.— Sasha Abramsky, Washington Post, 2 Feb. 2026
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Cite this Entry
“Smirch.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.grautoblog.com/thesaurus/smirch. Accessed 23 Apr. 2026.
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