blur

blur — noun

1. a shape, person, or thing seen without clear edges or detail.

1.nounB2
Definition

a shape, person, or thing seen without clear edges or detail.

Example

Without my glasses, the bus number is only a blur.

pattern: be a blur

Through the rainy window, the mountains looked like a blue blur.

Common collocations
  • a blur in the distance
  • motion blur
  • be only a blur
  • become a blur
Synonyms
  • smudge

    often suggests a mark or image with rubbed edges

  • haze

    broader; often refers to mist in the air rather than one object

  • fuzziness

    names the unclear quality more than the object itself

Antonyms
  • focus

    clear visual detail, especially in a picture or view

  • sharpness

    clear edges and fine detail

Grammar Patterns

be a blur

become a blur

Usage Note

Common for things seen quickly, from far away, or through rain, glass, or poor eyesight. Distinguish from sense 2, which is about memory rather than sight.

2. an event, period, or idea that remains in your mind only vaguely.

2.nounC1
Definition

an event, period, or idea that remains in your mind only vaguely.

Example

The night after surgery is just a blur in Priya's memory.

pattern: a blur in someone's memory

After three exams, Sunday afternoon passed in a tired blur.

pattern: pass in a blur

Common collocations
  • a blur in my memory
  • a blur to me
  • pass in a blur
  • a blur of meetings
Synonyms
  • haze

    can describe unclear memory or confused thought

  • fog

    often stronger and more figurative for mental confusion

  • blank

    stronger; suggests little or no memory at all

Antonyms
  • clarity

    clear understanding or memory

  • recall

    the ability to remember details

Grammar Patterns

be a blur to someone

pass in a blur

a blur of + plural noun

Usage Note

Often describes memories of a busy, shocking, or tiring time. Unlike sense 1, this sense does not refer to something you are literally looking at.

blur — verb

Word family

  • blurred
    adjectiveB2
  • blurry
    adjectiveB2
  • blurriness
    nounC2

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

'Blur' is the most general word when edges or details stop looking clear, whether this happens naturally or because something causes it. 'Smudge' often suggests rubbing, staining, or leaving a dirty mark, so it is more physical. 'Fog' can describe a view covered by mist, and by extension it can suggest something becoming hard to see through. 'Obscure' is more formal and wider in meaning: it can hide not only a picture, but also facts or meaning. You might say 'Tears blurred the road ahead,' but 'Mud smudged the map,' and 'The report obscured the real problem.'

blur ↗smudgefog ↗obscure ↗

Etymology

Middle EnglishEnglish

The word appeared in English in the early 1500s. It is probably related to the Middle English verb 'bleren', later 'blear', which was used for making the eyes or view dim. An early use of 'blur' referred to a smear or blot on writing, and that idea of lost clearness later widened to today's meanings about sight, memory, and unclear boundaries.