blur Definition
blur (blʉr)
transitive verb, intransitive verb blurred, blur′·ring
- to smear or stain without obliterating; blot; smudge
- to make or become hazy or indistinct in outline or shape
- to make or become dim or dull
Etymology: 16th c.; ? akin to blear
noun
- the state of being blurred
- an obscuring stain or blot
- anything indistinct or hazy to the sight or the mind
- Archaic a moral stain
blur Related Forms
blur′ry adjective blur′·rier, blur′·ri·est
blur′·ri·ness noun
blur Synonyms
blur
v.
blur Usage Examples
Object
- distinction: Once a government starts to blur that distinction there is trouble ahead.
- vision: I suppose the pound signs have blurred the organizers vision!
- boundary: City focuses on bridging or blurring the boundaries between these different media.
- edge: His extraordinary Magpie album has been blurring the edges of my road rage for weeks.
- line: Join the boys as they blur the line between work and play and the cameras record every steamy second.
- image: Kate looked up to see the blurred image of a man.
Preposition: at
edge: Again, the dividing line between catering and the food industry is reasonably clear cut although inevitably with some blurring at the edges.
Adjective complement
due: Is it blurred due to wind or did you create the blur?
Modifying Another Word
- increasingly: The distinction between a loan and a bond is becoming increasingly blurred.
- somewhat: By now the artifacts are starting to become somewhat blurred.
- slightly: Some things I can remember very vividly, others are slightly blurred.
- deliberately: Here the distinction between poster art and poster design is deliberately blurred.
- temporarily: The effect of these will wear off after a few hours but may temporarily blur your vision preventing you from reading or driving.
- inevitably: However, as the research discussed in the last section suggests, the line between science and policy is inevitably blurred.
Used with why or when
when: Yet, the line between ' myth ' and ' reality ' may become blurred when the subject is approached afresh.
Preposition: of
- distinction: Conclusion Cumulatively, the blurring of distinctions in these ten areas create a substantial concern with the sermon.
- boundary: The convergence of digital technologies means there is now a blurring of media boundaries.
- vision: The drops cause blurring of vision, which may last for up to four hours.
- division: The blurring of the division between regulation and accounting is very worrying.
- line: Q: Regarding Guru Dutt, and the first blurring of the line between commercial and new wave cinema.
Browse dictionary entries near blur
- ‹ blunt
- ‹ Blunkett, David
- ‹ blunge
- ‹ blunderbuss
- ‹ blunder
- ‹ Blunden, Edmund Charles
- ‹ Blum
- ‹ bluish
- ‹ bluing
- ‹ bluff
- blurb ›
- blurt ›
- blurt out ›
- blush ›
- blush wine ›
- blusher ›
- blushing ›
- bluster ›
- Blvd ›
- Blythe, Ronald George ›

