besmirk

B3E1S1M3I1R1K5

verb

To besmirch; sully; befoul.

Scrabble 15
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Meanings

verbbesmirk (third-person singular simple present besmirks, present participle besmirking, simple past and past participle besmirked)

present singular third person besmirks · participle present besmirking · participle past besmirked · past besmirked

  1. transitiveTo besmirch; sully; befoul.

    ESPN or some high-wattage radio station, they wouldn't besmirk their own hands, they'd sub it out to lowlifes.

    2011, Libby Sternberg, Gary Alexander, Lunch Reads Volume 2
    1 more example

    A mighty people, strong, reliant, free, / With souls sustained by foulest sorcery / Of noxious demagogues whose wiles disguise / Their sanguine lusts, and whose polluted lies / Besmirk the fairest form of Liberty!

    1907, J. Gordon Mowat, John Alexander Cooper, Newton MacTavish, The Canadian Magazine - Volume 30 - Page 584

Origin

Variant of besmirch, as if be- + smirk.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

besmirk. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/besmirk

MLA

“besmirk.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/besmirk. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “besmirk,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/besmirk.

Source: besmirk on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.