Smeared With: Standard Pattern
Smeared With: Standard Pattern records a directly documented English construction and keeps guidance bounded to the evidenced pattern rather than turning one attested complement into a universal prohibition.
Use “smeared with” when a surface or object is spread, coated, or marked with a liquid or thick substance.
Key details
Choose the right form
| Meaning / situation | Construction | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| a surface is spread, coated, or marked with a liquid or thick substance | smeared with + substance | Use the documented construction. |
| the substance is the complement | with + noun phrase | Name what covers or marks the surface after “with.” |
| the figurative reputation-damaging sense of “smear” | use wording for that separate sense | Do not force this literal coating pattern onto the figurative meaning. |
Quick tests
Meaning / construction test
Does “with” introduce the liquid or thick substance spread over the surface?
If yes: Use “smeared with.”
If no: Choose a construction that matches the different sense of “smear.”
Caveat: This page is bounded to the spread/coated/marked construction, not the separate figurative reputation sense.
Examples
The handle was smeared with grease.
“With” introduces the substance covering the handle.
Her sleeve was smeared with wet paint.
The construction names the substance spread on the fabric.
The window was smeared with mud after the storm.
The phrase describes a surface marked or coated with a substance.
Further guidance
Construction
Use “smeared with” when a surface or object is spread, coated, or marked with a liquid or thick substance.
Style Boundary
Cambridge directly gives the spread-substance construction with “smeared with.” This page does not extend that pattern to the separate figurative sense of smear meaning to damage a reputation.
Sources and evidence
Sources are shown with the role they play in this guide. Historical or style-sensitive claims are kept within the evidence boundary described above.
- smear — Cambridge English Dictionary (opens in a new tab)Cambridge Dictionary · Direct Cambridge dictionary evidence for the spread-substance sense and passive “smeared with” construction.