Smeariest

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Having the greatest tendency to spread dirt or grease ; causing the most damage to reputation or character through false or harmful claims
2. Most prone to leave marks or smudges when touched or handled ; being the worst in terms of slandering or damaging someone's public image
3. Exhibiting the highest capacity to become dirty or blurred ; considered the most discrediting or defamatory in terms of personal or public esteem

Etymology: "Smeariest" is the superlative of "smeary," so its history is really the history of its base. The root "smear" goes back to Old English "smeoru," meaning fat or grease, a sense that has survived in the modern sense of dirt or grease. The adjective "smeary" grew from Old English "smeoruwiġ," meaning fatty, greasy or unctuous, and that old root is still visible in the word's core meaning. The adjective later passed into Middle English as "smery," and the modern "smeary" appears in that same greasy, grimy sense before its extension to figurative use. The "-y" ending is a plain English adjective-forming suffix, meaning "full of" or "having the qualities of," so "smeary" literally means full of smears. The "-iest" superlative is added to the adjective in the usual way. The figurative sense, causing damage to reputation through false or harmful claims, grows naturally from the idea of a smear as something that spreads and stains.

Synonyms: messiest, grimiest

Antonyms: cleanest