Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • intransitive verb To make indistinct and hazy in outline or appearance; obscure.
  • intransitive verb To make dim, unclear, or cloudy.
  • intransitive verb To cause to be intellectually indistinguishable.
  • intransitive verb To become visually indistinct.
  • intransitive verb To be unclear or clouded.
  • intransitive verb To become intellectually indistinguishable.
  • noun Something that is hazy and indistinct to the sight or mind.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A smudge or smear, such as that made by brushing writing or painting before it is dry; a blot which partially defaces or obscures.
  • noun Figuratively, a blot, stain, or injury affecting character, reputation, and the like.
  • noun A blurred condition; a dim, confused appearance; indistinctness.
  • To obscure or sully (a thing) with something which detracts from its fairness or beauty.
  • To sully; stain; blemish: as, to blur one's reputation.
  • To obscure without quite effacing; render indistinct; confuse and bedim, as the outlines of a figure.
  • To dim the perception or susceptibility of; make dull or insensible to impression: as, blurred eyesight; to blur the judgment.
  • To make blurs in writing.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun That which obscures without effacing; a stain; a blot, as upon paper or other substance.
  • noun A dim, confused appearance; indistinctness of vision.
  • noun A moral stain or blot.
  • transitive verb To render obscure by making the form or outline of confused and uncertain, as by soiling; to smear; to make indistinct and confused.
  • transitive verb To cause imperfection of vision in; to dim; to darken.
  • transitive verb To sully; to stain; to blemish, as reputation.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb To make indistinct or hazy, to obscure or dim.
  • verb To smear, stain or smudge.
  • verb intransitive To become indistinct.
  • noun A smear, smudge or blot
  • noun Something that appears hazy or indistinct
  • noun obsolete A moral stain or blot.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a hazy or indistinct representation
  • verb become vague or indistinct
  • verb make unclear, indistinct, or blurred
  • verb make dim or indistinct
  • verb make a smudge on; soil by smudging
  • verb to make less distinct or clear
  • verb become glassy; lose clear vision

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Probably akin to Middle English bleren, to blear.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Cognate with to blear, the verb is from the noun.

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