mar 1 of 2

mar

2 of 2

verb

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2

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
LaBeouf's career has been marred by controversy in recent years. Tommy McArdle, People.com, 26 Mar. 2025 The 18-page document warns that Europe is facing a new reality marred with risk and uncertainty, citing Russia’s full-scale war in Ukraine, rising geopolitical tensions, sabotage of critical infrastructure, and electronic warfare as prominent factors. Sophie Tanno, CNN Money, 26 Mar. 2025 The dashboard was part of an extended pressure campaign from Buttigieg, who, during his tenure in the Biden administration, publicly challenged the major carriers to improve service and transparency—particularly after a summer marred by cancellations and flight delays. Bailey Berg, AFAR Media, 8 Apr. 2025 Indeed, Delaney’s personal life has been marred by what appears to be a pretty entrenched drinking problem, which has affected her career and led to very un-Diane Russell-like brushes with the law, the Daily Mail and other outlets have reported. Martha Ross, Mercury News, 1 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for mar
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mar
Noun
  • With the help of this technology, defects were significantly reduced.
    Michael Amori, Forbes.com, 15 Apr. 2025
  • Doctors later discovered that Figari’s stroke was caused by a previously undetected congenital heart defect called a patent foramen ovale (PFO), in which a hole between the left and right chambers of the heart is left open as opposed to closing after birth, according to Penn Medicine.
    Vanessa Etienne, People.com, 15 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • Apologies to the late John Lennon, but that song has been tainted for many. Need a break?
    KiMi Robinson, USA Today, 7 Apr. 2025
  • The river is tainted with harmful toxins from industrial waste, trash and untreated sewage.
    Kimberly Dickson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • Memorial at Florida State University after a fatal shooting killed two people and injured several others.
    Kati Weis, CBS News, 20 Apr. 2025
  • The spill killed 11 people and injured 17 others as 210 million gallons of crude oil were released into the Gulf of Mexico (recently renamed by the U.S. government as Gulf of America) for a total of 87 days.
    Terry Collins, USA Today, 20 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • But amid the fanfare of parades, fireworks and airshows, a long-standing debate over what to call the holiday continues, a subtle acknowledgment of the lingering scars of a contentious war.
    Stephanie Yang, Los Angeles Times, 27 Apr. 2025
  • Damn right, he’s got the blues… and the scars to show for it.
    Chris Willman, Variety, 25 Apr. 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
  • Sudden kicks, jumps, tackles, and awkward leg movements can damage groin muscles.
    Mark Gurarie, Health, 22 Apr. 2025
  • Mineral extraction has damaging social consequences in developing countries, where the impoverished are often compelled to work in unsafe and unhygienic conditions.
    Foreign Affairs, Foreign Affairs, 22 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • But this season, the one with the 4-15-0 blotch on the calendar from late November to early January, there’s no way to feel OK about Sunday.
    Arthur Staple, The Athletic, 17 Mar. 2025
  • The fish have white faces with a black blotch in front of the eyes, according to the study.
    Irene Wright, Miami Herald, 4 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • If Bonhoeffer’s example is used to justify more far-right Christian violence in America, that would be another tragedy — and a cruel irony that would stain the legacy of a man who gave up everything to confront a tyrant.
    John Blake, CNN Money, 13 Apr. 2025
  • Pérez's manager, Enrique Paulino, spoke to reporters at the scene, his shirt stained with blood.
    Gordon G. Chang, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Apr. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Mar.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mar. Accessed 1 May. 2025.

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