as in stain
a mark of guilt or disgrace
corruption charges that were a smirch on her reputation
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in to stain
to make dirty
their clothes were smirched by dust from the trail
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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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Many stain removal methods call for dish detergents to be used.—
Hallie Milstein,
Southern Living,
2 Mar. 2025 -
Kitchens are good places for synthetic runners that shrug off stains and are easy to clean.—
BestReviews,
The Mercury News,
28 Feb. 2025
Verb
-
The goal is for the top to become blackened while the center remains jiggly.—
Lily Moayeri,
SPIN,
13 Feb. 2025
-
By the end of January, the Palisades and Eaton fires had collectively burned more than 37,000 acres of land, blackened more than 1,500 structures, and claimed 29 lives, according to the New York Times.—
Daniel Cassady,
ARTnews.com,
19 Feb. 2025
Verb
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No, Trump Did Not ‘Bring Back Free Speech’ An August 2024 report by Columbia’s task force on antisemitism found that Jews and Israelis at Columbia were often ostracized and humiliated on campus.—
Solcyré Burga,
TIME,
7 Mar. 2025
-
Committee Chairman James Comer will use the hearing to humiliate blue-city mayors and to please the White House and fire up his extremist MAGA base.—
Peter Cunningham,
Chicago Tribune,
4 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
These were the years in which capitalism shed its pitiless light on the absurd British soul, with its deep striations of caste and station, its postcolonial taint, most of all its perverted emotional core, full of love and loathing for its own extremes of domination and servitude.—
Rachel Cusk,
Harper's Magazine,
19 Feb. 2025
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The series is so cyclical - don’t let the current 2-7 9 year mark against the Irish taint the outlook of the series.—
Antonio Morales,
The Athletic,
14 Feb. 2025
Verb
-
Grease dirtied the handles of the ovens, the microwave ovens and the coolers.—
David J. Neal,
Miami Herald,
14 Feb. 2025
-
Instead of dirtying a larger pot for your supporting dishes, this quaint cooker will come in handy for quick (or slower simmering) concoctions while matching your kitchen atmosphere.—
Sophia Beams,
Better Homes & Gardens,
14 Jan. 2025
Verb
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But Dickens claims the opposite, and argues that the research purporting to discredit spelling has fallen out of date.—
Daniel Engber,
The Atlantic,
3 Mar. 2025
-
Incident brought ‘discredit to the Sheriff’s Office’ Sgt.—
Ishani Desai,
Sacramento Bee,
1 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
There, an opaque, baseball-size blot was visible on his imaging results.—
ByMeredith Wadman,
science.org,
16 Jan. 2025
-
The cleaning process is the same as with wool rugs: blot with warm water, working from the outer edge inward.—
Jennifer Beck Goldblatt,
Architectural Digest,
9 Jan. 2025
Verb
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Other attempts to besmirch her also fell short — as in the 2024 election, when former Sen. Randolph Bracy launched an ugly attempt to oust her from the District 15 Senate seat.—
Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board,
Orlando Sentinel,
25 Feb. 2025
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With her buzz cut and Bikini Kill T-shirt, Brie Larson’s Elektra is presented as a rebel, a provocateur, and the kind of obsessively angry soul who might well carry her microphone around town in order to besmirch her mother and berate the world.—
David Rooney,
The Hollywood Reporter,
6 Feb. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Smirch.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/smirch. Accessed 12 Mar. 2025.
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