All words

mar

Meaning

To spoil, disfigure, or damage, especially in a way that diminishes its beauty or perfection. It can also refer to the spoiling of a plan or effort.

Examples by difficulty

Basic: Simple, everyday vocabulary — the easiest to read.

The sudden storm threatened to mar the perfect wedding day. Rain lashed down, blurring the decorations and soaking the carefully arranged flowers. All the hard work and excitement seemed ruined, leaving everyone feeling disheartened.

The sculptor stared at the clay figure. A careless bump had marred its delicate features, a tiny crack now tracing across its nose. All that work, ruined by a moment's clumsiness. The smooth polish of the stone was now dulled, its intended grace lost.

The child's sticky fingers were about to mar the intricate sugar sculptures. Her parents, who’d spent hours creating them for the town’s gnome festival, could only watch, their smiles strained, as the delicate toadstools wobbled precariously.

Barry tried to paint a perfect sunset, but a rogue sneeze came out, and his giant snot-blob did mar the pretty colors. His masterpiece was now a blobby mess. He looked at the splat and sighed, "My artistic vision is ruined."

Barry the badger's attempt to impress Brenda by juggling flaming pinecones nearly ruined the annual forest talent show. Smoke filled the air, singeing a few eyebrows and, unfortunately, a prize-winning pumpkin. Barry's grand finale didn't just end with a whimper; it managed to mar the entire evening's festive mood.

Normal: Standard, everyday language.

He'd worked for weeks on that intricate model ship, finally ready to unveil it, when his younger brother, clumsy and careless, bumped the table. The delicate rigging snapped, and a perfectly carved mast broke, marring the hours of painstaking effort.

The toddler's sticky hand, smearing the freshly polished obsidian surface, threatened to mar its flawless shine. I sighed, a tiny frustration marring the joy of completing the intricate sculpture, knowing another hour of careful work would be needed to restore its perfection.

The vibrant, hand-painted mural depicting the migration of the sky-whales was nearly complete, its celestial blues and shimmering silvers breathtaking. But then, a careless sweep of a cleaning crew’s ladder, too high and too fast, managed to mar the delicate wing of the lead creature, forever blemishing its imagined flight.

My brilliant scheme to sneak an extra slice of cake before dinner was about to be perfect. But then, my dog, Bartholomew, with a wag of his tail and a slobbery lick, decided to mar the entire operation by announcing his presence with a deafening bark.

Barry the badger, in his enthusiastic attempt to serenade the moon with interpretive dance, managed to mar the carefully cultivated prize-winning pumpkin patch. His enthusiastic twirls not only squashed several gourds but also left muddy paw prints all over Mrs. Higgins' prize-winning rutabaga, effectively spoiling her entire harvest festival display.

Advanced: Richer vocabulary that stretches an upper-level reader.

He watched the storm clouds gather, a cold dread in his gut. This was supposed to be a perfect day, the culmination of months of preparation. Now, the wind howled, threatening to mar every carefully laid plan and shatter the joyous anticipation.

The normally pristine surface of the experimental nutrient paste began to mar. Tiny, dark spores, unforeseen in the sterile environment, spread rapidly. Their appearance threatened to ruin months of dedicated work and the potential for a breakthrough in synthetic food production.

The frost would mar the intricate sugar sculptures, turning delicate petals into unsightly puddles. He watched, helpless, as the sudden warmth threatened to mar his painstaking work, reducing hours of effort to a sticky, shapeless mess.

Barnaby's attempt to perfectly frost the cake was a valiant, if ultimately disastrous, endeavor. A rogue gust from the open window managed to mar his masterpiece with a shower of dust bunnies, transforming the elegant dessert into a rather hairy confection.

The meticulously crafted, miniature badger diorama was a masterpiece of artisanal fluff. Then, Bartholomew, an enthusiastic but remarkably clumsy gnome, tripped, causing his entire collection of polished pebbles to mar the delicate mossy landscape, transforming it from a woodland idyll into a chaotic, gravelly disaster zone.

Challenging: Rare, high-register vocabulary for serious word lovers.

The unexpected storm threatened to mar the meticulously planned garden party, its torrential downpour an unwelcome guest that would undoubtedly disfigure the delicate floral arrangements and spoil the entire endeavor.

The meticulous restoration of the antique astrolabe was nearing completion, its brasswork gleaming under the dim laboratory lights. Then, a clumsy technician, in a moment of abject carelessness, knocked over a volatile solvent. The acrid fumes instantly began to mar the intricate celestial engravings, irrevocably blemishing its former splendor.

The artisan's painstaking efforts to restore the antique automaton were nearly undone by a careless spill of solvent. It threatened to mar the intricate filigree, a grievous disfigurement that would forever mar its former splendor, a tragic imperfection on what should have been a flawless revival.

My ambitious attempt to transmute lead into gold was utterly *marred* by my overzealous application of a badger's pelt, which, it turns out, is not a catalyst. The acrid fumes that subsequently permeated my meticulously calibrated laboratory did not only disfigure my alchemical apparatus but also rendered my magnum opus a pungent, smoldering testament to my egregious misjudgment.

The audacious marmot, with its insatiable penchant for pilfered pastries, managed to mar the meticulously orchestrated picnic. Its grubby paws obliterated the delicate filigree on the petit fours, and its enthusiastic gobbling rendered the champagne a mere effervescent puddle, thus profoundly spoiling the otherwise idyllic al fresco repast.

Difficulty

Normal — Everyday words worth reinforcing.

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