smuts
- noun
- /smʌts/
- Offensive
:
mancha
- She wiped away the smuts from the old photograph to see the image more clearly.
Examples
-
The table had several smuts from the spilled ink.
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The magazine was criticized for including smuts that some readers found offensive.
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The windowsill was covered in smuts after the storm had passed.
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There were smuts all over the old book.
-
The table had several smuts from the spilled ink.
-
She wiped away the smuts from the old photograph to see the image more clearly.
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There were smuts all over the old book.
Synonyms
468
1.0
A visible line, spot, scratch, or stain on a surface
30
1.9
A dirty mark on something that makes it look untidy
14
4.1
A messy mark left on a surface by a substance
8
2.7
A small mark often made by ink or dirt
6
9.1
A small spot of dirt on skin or clothing
1
9.9
A small spot or stain on a surface
A dirty mark that spoils the look of clothing or fabric
A small spot on a surface showing an imperfection
A small spot of dirt or sticky food on something
How Dirty
Surface Forms
Morphology
smuts = smut (transparent) = smut + s
Simple plural formation from the noun 'smut' meaning a dirty mark, so the meaning is directly derived and obvious to learners.
Etymology
Smuts originally meant 'soot' or a small black stain, so a smut is a little dirty spot like the soot left on a windowsill. That's why we call small dirty or offensive spots on surfaces and print 'smuts'.