slur

Meaning

Noun

1. An insult or slight, especially one that is muttered incoherently under one's breath.
2. An insult or slight, especially one that is muttered incoherently under one's breath.
3. A mark of dishonour; a blight or stain.
4. An act of running one's words together; poor verbal articulation.
5. Any instance of separate things gradually blending together, such as heartbeats in some medical disorders.
6. A set of notes that are played legato, without separate articulation.
7. The symbol indicating a legato passage, written as an arc over the slurred notes (not to be confused with a tie).

Verb

1. To insult or slight.
2. To run together; to articulate poorly.
3. To play legato or without separate articulation; to connect (notes) smoothly.
4. To soil; to sully; to contaminate; to disgrace.
5. To cover over; to disguise; to conceal; to pass over lightly or with little notice.
6. To cheat, as by sliding a die; to trick.
7. (dated) To blur or double, as an impression from type; to mackle.

Synonyms

smear

smirch

spot

blot

blemish

insult

slander

aspersion

smudge

stain

defame

speckle

vilify

speck

daub

libel

asperse

moil

blur

denigration

denigrate

abuse

stigma

sully

dim

splotch

backbite

splutter

calumniate

calumny

blacken

defect

smut

slight

mumble

bespatter

besmirch

malign

disparage

begrime

bundle

brand

befoul

assault

blow

bedraggle

discolouration

blotch

discoloration

dirty

Translations

calunniare

mancha

verleumden

tache

macchia

smet

verschleifen

calomnie

προσβολή

mal articuler

Verleumdung

accecatura

insulto

Verunglimpfung

Pronounced as (IPA)

/slɜː(ɹ)/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: sloor

Cognate with Middle Low German: sluren

Cognate with Norwegian: sløra

Cognate with Danish: sløre

Cognate with Old Norse: slóðra

In summary

From Middle English sloor (“thin or fluid mud”). Cognate with Middle Low German sluren (“to trail in mud”). Also related to dialectal Norwegian sløra (“to be careless, to scamp, dawdle”), Danish sløre (“to wobble, be loose”) (especially for wheels); compare Old Norse slóðra (“to drag oneself along”).
* (an extremely offensive term): Influenced by various compounds of sense 1 such as racial slur, ethnic slur, etc.