adj
Meaning 1
Having or showing smears.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: smeared, smudged, soiled
Antonyms: none provided
Standard Lemma guide
smeary
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
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Australian, Received-Pronunciation: /ˈsmɪəɹi/
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Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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/ˈsmɪɹi/ General American, mirror–nearer merger
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US: /ˈsmɪɚi/ without the mirror–nearer merger
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US: /ˈsmiɹi/ without the mirror–nearer merger
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Scotland: /ˈsmiɹɪ/
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Scotland: /ˈsmiɹe/
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New-Zealand: /ˈsmiəɹi/
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/ˈsmɛːɹi/ East Anglia, cheer–chair merger
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rhymes with -ɪəɹi
adj
Meaning 2
Tending to smear or soil.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
adj
Meaning 3
Having a consistency like grease; covered with such a substance.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Examples
- 1896, W. S. Gilbert, The Grand Duke, Act I, in The Complete Plays of Gilbert and Sullivan, New York: The Modern Library, 1936, p. 675, When your lips are all smeary—like tallow, And your tongue is decidedly yallow, With a pint of warm oil in your swallow, And a pound of tin-tacks in your chest
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: adhesive, greasy, sticky, viscous
Antonyms: none provided
History
Etymology
From Middle English *smery, *smeri, from Old English smeoruwiġ (“fatty, greasy, unctious, smeary”), from Proto-West Germanic *smerwig, equivalent to smear + -y.