mar 1 of 2

mar

2 of 2

verb

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Synonym Chooser

How is the word mar distinct from other similar verbs?

Some common synonyms of mar are damage, harm, hurt, impair, and injure. While all these words mean "to affect injuriously," mar applies to injury that spoils perfection (as of a surface) or causes disfigurement.

the text is marred by many typos

When is it sensible to use damage instead of mar?

While in some cases nearly identical to mar, damage suggests injury that lowers value or impairs usefulness.

a table damaged in shipping

When might harm be a better fit than mar?

The words harm and mar can be used in similar contexts, but harm often stresses the inflicting of pain, suffering, or loss.

careful not to harm the animals

When is hurt a more appropriate choice than mar?

In some situations, the words hurt and mar are roughly equivalent. However, hurt implies inflicting a wound to the body or to the feelings.

hurt by their callous remarks

When can impair be used instead of mar?

The words impair and mar are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, impair suggests a making less complete or efficient by deterioration or diminution.

years of smoking had impaired his health

In what contexts can injure take the place of mar?

The meanings of injure and mar largely overlap; however, injure implies the inflicting of anything detrimental to one's looks, comfort, health, or success.

badly injured in an accident

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of mar
Verb
The victory celebrations were marred by chaos, including a stabbing and a car hitting a crowd of pedestrians. Justin Grasso, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 June 2025 Last year’s Hajj was marred by the deaths of nearly 500 pilgrims due to the sweltering heat. Andrew Torgan, CNN Money, 1 June 2025 Paul Doyle, 53, was charged just three days after Monday's mayhem marred the celebration of Liverpool Football Club’s English Premier League title win. Corky Siemaszko, NBC news, 29 May 2025 Sommers won his sixth individual state title earlier in the day and gets to finish on top once more in what had been a frustrating season marred by injury. Matt Schubert, Denver Post, 17 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for mar
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mar
Noun
  • What a buyer might find as a major defect could be different than what a seller finds as one.
    Halee Miller Van Ryswyk, Better Homes & Gardens, 16 June 2025
  • Operational Efficiency And Cost Reduction Beyond core back-office tasks, AI bots are streamlining operations across industries: • Manufacturing: A process-mining AI tool helped one leading manufacturer automate quality-check handoffs, cutting defect investigation time by 60%.
    Leonard Martin Schmedding, Forbes.com, 12 June 2025
Verb
  • Their prosecution was tainted by multiple constitutional violations and political bias.
    Andrew Stanton, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 May 2025
  • White died nine days later on Nov. 21 The best friend of a British woman who died after drinking alcohol that authorities suspect was tainted with methanol while visiting Laos is speaking out.
    Becca Longmire, People.com, 27 May 2025
Verb
  • Federal officials said one immigration agent was injured when a rock shattered his vehicle’s windshield, and the U.S. Marshals Service reported arrests for obstructing operations, according to the Times.
    Lia Russell, Sacbee.com, 8 June 2025
  • Officials said 15 people between the ages of 25 and 88 were injured with burns.
    Jeanine Santucci, USA Today, 7 June 2025
Noun
  • Ukraine invasion — explained The bruising artillery battle in Ukraine has left a scar that is visible from space Lewis also saw no evidence that Israel had struck at tunnels deep beneath a nearby mountain.
    Geoff Brumfiel, NPR, 13 June 2025
  • The Director informs her that the scar is the mark of a rival group of killers with which the Ruska Roma maintains a permanent mutual pact of nonaggression, and orders Eve to stand down.
    Richard Brody, New Yorker, 5 June 2025
Verb
  • Dodge won't spoil the surprise by confirming if the last one will be based on the Charger or the Challenger (or maybe both), but the evidence suggests the latter is more likely.
    Jack Fitzgerald, Car and Driver, 13 Feb. 2023
  • Farmers’ broiler chickens suffocate, and dairy products spoil.
    Monica Mark, The Christian Science Monitor, 10 Feb. 2023
Verb
  • Driving through deep water can also damage a vehicle's mechanical and electrical systems.
    CA Weather Bot, Sacbee.com, 9 June 2025
  • Her older brother, a successful economist, and her sister, a government lawyer, have repeatedly warned her that her outspokenness could damage not only her career but theirs.
    Eyal Press, New Yorker, 9 June 2025
Noun
  • Their backs are a mixture of cream dots, orange-ish speckles and brown blotches.
    Aspen Pflughoeft, Miami Herald, 2 June 2025
  • These are more typically animals with stripes instead of blotches, missing patterns, and similar.
    Madison E. Goldberg, People.com, 16 May 2025
Verb
  • Outside, people were returning from the aid hub, mostly empty-handed, while empty flour bags stained with blood lay on the ground.
    Mohammad Jahjouh, Los Angeles Times, 3 June 2025
  • The doors to several apartments on the first floor remained stained with the victims’ bloody handprints Saturday.
    Emma Seiwell, New York Daily News, 31 May 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Mar.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mar. Accessed 19 Jun. 2025.

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