1
as in stained
to make dirty
a tablecloth daubed with too many spills to ignore any longer
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in smeared
to rub an oily or sticky substance over
he begins his nightly transformation into a circus clown by daubing greasepaint on his face
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Recent Examples of daubed
The Place de la République in Paris was daubed in swastikas and anti-Semitic slogans last Sunday after a neo-Nazi rally, and offices of France Unbowed have been attacked.
—
Tim Lister, CNN Money, 21 Feb. 2026
Ryvchin, whose former home was daubed with antisemitic language and cars were set alight earlier this year, said both Australia’s federal government and provincial leaders in the state of New South Wales had failed to act on proposals to curb antisemitic violence.
—Katie Silver, NBC news, 25 Dec. 2025
The walls at the Museum of Contemporary Art North Miami are daubed with rosy-red pigment from the Cochineal, a cactus-dwelling insect her mother would harvest and sell in her hometown of Ayacucho, Peru.
—Douglas Markowitz, Miami Herald, 19 Dec. 2025
Researchers expected the dogs to pay most attention to the cat doll, particularly when daubed with the feline scent.
—Jack Beresford, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 Aug. 2025
Tim Lister, CNN Money, 21 Feb. 2026
Ryvchin, whose former home was daubed with antisemitic language and cars were set alight earlier this year, said both Australia’s federal government and provincial leaders in the state of New South Wales had failed to act on proposals to curb antisemitic violence.
—Katie Silver, NBC news, 25 Dec. 2025
The walls at the Museum of Contemporary Art North Miami are daubed with rosy-red pigment from the Cochineal, a cactus-dwelling insect her mother would harvest and sell in her hometown of Ayacucho, Peru.
—Douglas Markowitz, Miami Herald, 19 Dec. 2025
Researchers expected the dogs to pay most attention to the cat doll, particularly when daubed with the feline scent.
—Jack Beresford, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for daubed
Verb
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Overnight, the smoke coiled upward and gave way to acid rain that stained the city black.—
Cora Engelbrecht,
New Yorker,
20 Mar. 2026
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No more worrying about whether my teeth are wine-stained at dinner and no reason to feel guilty about that second (or third) espresso hit.—
Grace McCarty,
Glamour,
18 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Grainy mustard smeared on a chunk of corned beef is delicious too.—
Tribune Content Agency,
Baltimore Sun,
4 Mar. 2026
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Cops called to the scene found blood smeared on the stairwell from the third floor to the second, and more blood smeared on the walls in the second-floor hallway.—
Rebecca White,
New York Daily News,
28 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The Israeli strikes on oil facilities sparked massive pillars of fire and blackened the skies above Tehran.—
NPR Staff,
NPR,
11 Mar. 2026
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Once a sky-blue democracy is restored, may Trump’s days of infamy be ruled illegitimate and his name and legacy duly tainted by all of history, darkly blackened or cautiously reddened in the honest records that this twerp and his twisted cohorts have conspired so heinously to whitewash.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
8 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Richins declined to testify at the trial, where the prosecution painted her as a killer set on taking her husband's money.—
Emily Mae Czachor,
CBS News,
17 Mar. 2026
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The most vivid illustration is the Fernando Valenzuela mural down the left field line and overlooking the field, painted by muralist Jonas Never.—
Jim Alexander,
Oc Register,
16 Mar. 2026
Verb
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When stormwater dirtied by road runoff, failing septic tanks and fertilizer sullied crystal-clear rivers and lakes, and nobody cared.—
Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board,
The Orlando Sentinel,
11 Jan. 2026
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Garments can be dirtied again by the elements if air-dried outside.—
Mary Cornetta,
Better Homes & Gardens,
20 Dec. 2025
Verb
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The structured strapless red number was coated in velvet and featured an thigh slit and an elegant train.—
Meg Walters,
InStyle,
16 Mar. 2026
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The combination of beef and broccoli coated in a thick, glossy hoisin-soy sauce has been riffed on countless ways, but this version keeps the old-school flavors intact while handing off the work to modern kitchen helpers.—
Maggie Meyer Glisan,
Better Homes & Gardens,
15 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Meanwhile, at the Milan Fashion Week show, the star embraced an edgy aesthetic with a messy low ponytail and smudged black eyeliner with smoky navy eyeshadow.—
Lara Walsh,
InStyle,
26 Feb. 2026
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Then move on to large appliance fronts—specifically, those stainless steel fridges and ovens that are easily smudged.—
Patricia Shannon,
Southern Living,
13 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Daubed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/daubed. Accessed 21 Mar. 2026.
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