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Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

asmear en · ADJ

Pronunciation

  • /əˈsmɪɹ/ (General-American)
  • /əˈsmɪə/ (Received-Pronunciation)

Etymology

From a- + smear.

Meanings

  1. (not-comparable) Smeared over.
    • The young Isaac, my grandchild, played in the center of the floor, his face asmear, clothing torn and foul. 1980, Al Hine, Brother Owl, Garden City, NY: Doubleday, Part 5, pp. 283-284:
    • So, I came into Smithfield; and the shameful place, being all asmear with filth and fat and blood and foam, seemed to stick to me. 1860 December – 1861 August, Charles Dickens, chapter I, in Great Expectations […], volume II, London: Chapman and Hall, […], published October 1861, →OCLC, page 6:
    • A woman asmear with blood stood up, fell softly down, stood slowly up again, wavering like a little flag. 1995, William Gass, The Tunnel, New York: Knopf, page 232: