smirch

smirch  (smûrch)

tr.v. smirched, smirch·ing, smirch·es

1. To soil, stain, or dirty with or as if with a smearing agent: "their tough, hostile faces, smirched by the grime and rust" (Henry Roth).

2. To dishonor; defame.

n.

Something, such as a blot, smear, or stain, that smirches.

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[Middle English smorchen.]

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smirch

Verb

1. to disgrace

2. to dirty or soil

Noun

1. a disgrace

2. a smear or stain [origin unknown]

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	smirch - a blemish made by dirt; "he had a smudge on his cheek" blot, daub, smudge, slur, smear, spot blemish, mar, defect - a mark or flaw that spoils the appearance of something (especially on a person's body); "a facial blemish" blotch, splodge, splotch - an irregularly shaped spot fingermark, fingerprint - a smudge made by a (dirty) finger inkblot - a blot made with ink
	2.	smirch - an act that brings discredit to the person who does it; "he made a huge blot on his copybook" blot, smear, stain, spot error, fault, mistake - a wrong action attributable to bad judgment or ignorance or inattention; "he made a bad mistake"; "she was quick to point out my errors"; "I could understand his English in spite of his grammatical faults"
Verb	1.	smirch - smear so as to make dirty or stained besmirch smear - stain by smearing or daubing with a dirty substance
	2.	smirch - charge falsely or with malicious intent; attack the good name and reputation of someone; "The journalists have defamed me!" "The article in the paper sullied my reputation" asperse, besmirch, calumniate, defame, slander, denigrate, sully, smear accuse, charge - blame for, make a claim of wrongdoing or misbehavior against; "he charged the director with indifference" assassinate - destroy or damage seriously, as of someone's reputation; "He assassinated his enemy's character" libel - print slanderous statements against; "The newspaper was accused of libeling him" badmouth, drag through the mud, malign, traduce - speak unfavorably about; "She badmouths her husband everywhere"