To smudge, blur, or render indistinct (writing, pictures, etc.).

a blemish made by dirt; "he had a smudge on his cheek"

make a smudge on; soil by smudging

A term used to describe a picture condition in which objects appear to be extended horizontally beyond their normal boundaries in a blurred of "smeared" manner. Also, the kind of campaign waged by telephone companies to counter the wildly successful Internet over cable service.

In painting, the blending of adjacent colors together along a stroke path. Contrast with blur.