Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- v. To spatter with or as if with mud: "a thoughtful, anti-activist judge being bespattered with charges of racism, sexism, hypocrisy and dishonesty” ( William Safire).
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- To soil by spattering; sprinkle with anything liquid, or with any wet or adhesive substance.
- Figuratively, to asperse with calumny or reproach.
Wiktionary
- v. transitive To spatter or cover with something; sprinkle with anything liquid, or with any wet or adhesive substance.
- v. transitive To soil by spattering.
- v. transitive, figuratively To asperse with calumny or reproach; shend.
GNU Webster's 1913
- v. To soil by spattering; to sprinkle, esp. with dirty water, mud, or anything which will leave foul spots or stains.
- v. To asperse with calumny or reproach.
WordNet 3.0
- v. spot, splash, or soil
Etymologies
- From be- + spatter. (Wiktionary)
Examples
“So when the king is a horseback he is sure to be the dirtiest person of the company, and they that make their court best are such as bespatter him most.”
“Conveniency for him to bespatter her with Scandal.”
“Every time he comes in at me from in front earth and sand from his bullets bespatter me right and left.”
“Bits of soft earth mixed with squashed berries came out of nowhere to bespatter us - until Oomark threw up one arm and gave a crowing cry.”
“He was a proud man, who must hate standing by helplessly, holding the supreme office in Orvieto, watching the two great families bespatter his city with blood.”
“But most people when they are abused do not consider whether the abuse really belongs to them properly, but look round to see what abuse they can heap on the abuser, and, as wrestlers get smothered with the dust of the arena, do not wipe off the abuse hurled at themselves, but bespatter others, and at last get on both sides grimy and discoloured.”
“Agrarian contests of Rome, which were so long misunderstood; and through that misunderstanding has the word Agrarian, so proper in itself, been made to furnish one of the most reproachful terms that violent politicians have ever used when seeking to bespatter their foes.”
“O stout Amazonians, who thus couragiously, take the Weapons in hand, to defend and protect your Husbands, Children, Servants and houskeeping; why should not you have as great commendations given you, as those noble Souls of your Sex had in former times? and who would not rather ingage in the imbracing of you, then any waies to affront or bespatter you?”
The Ten Pleasures of Marriage and the Second Part, The Confession of the New Married Couple
“Lord Stanley are wont to bespatter and heap dirt on each other's heads in their legislative squabbles!”
“Last night about 10.30 the Turks disturbed our peace by firing fifty or sixty shells about our Beach, some being very near our camp, near enough to bespatter our tents and dugouts with lumps of earth.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘bespatter’.
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Interesting words
A list of words that are odd or words that I have looked up.
concupiscence, brize, scree, scoria, forestaff, spanaemia, valetudinarianism, distasture, pyrethrum, laudanum, gentian, bicameral and 11184 more...
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Figuratively
Words with definitions containing "figuratively."
spore, plunge, fulminate, rasp, hinge, niche, breathe, approach, hammer, rain, butcher, dazzle and 132 more...
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Mark
scrawl, blemish, spot, mar, damage, speckle, bespatter, splash, smirch, stain, tattoo, impress and 20 more...
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Belistful
Tubey or not tubey.
belittle, bedazzle, besiege, besmirch, bespeckle, beget, bemoan, befuddle, befriend, become, besot, becloud and 596 more...
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Belist
Be- verbs (or verbals).
Words bewet through becalm were gratefully cribbed from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Be-bewitch, bedeck, bedaub, become, bewilder, beknight, bereave, believe, behead, besiege, bespeak, befriend and 53 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for bespatter.
ruzuzu "Figuratively, to asperse with calumny or reproach." --CD&C Jan 19, 2012