Word
marred
US/ˈmɑɹd/
UK/mˈɑːd/
Definitions
01damaged or spoiled
adj. having the appearance or quality spoiled by a mark, flaw, or mistake.
adj. impaired in quality, appearance, or character; having the perfection of something ruined by a specific flaw.
“The beautiful view was marred by a large, ugly billboard in the middle of the field.”
“The pristine silence of the valley was marred by the distant, rhythmic thud of industrial machinery from the new quarry.”
Literary
03spoiled or pampered
adj. used to describe a person, usually a child, who is treated too kindly and becomes soft or difficult.
adj. describing an individual who has been overly indulged or cosseted; primarily restricted to specific regional dialects.
“He was a marred child who always cried if he didn't get his way.”
“The grandmother was often accused of raising marred children who lacked the resilience required for adult life.”
Dialect · British English
Usage
Commonly used in Northern England, particularly Yorkshire, to describe a 'spoilt' child.
Antonyms
Real-World Examples
“Brentford should have scored more – Igor Thiago, normally so reliable from the spot, marred an intelligent forward display by missing a penalty – but this was a joyous start to their campaign.” “The first set was marred by 12 unforced errors for 27-year-old Rybakina, who struggled to strike the ball cleanly.” Etymology
From Middle English marred, merred (“troubled, distressed, vexed, bewildered”), from Old English *mierred, ġemyrred (“disturbed, troubled”), past participle of Old English mierran, ġemyrran (“to hinder, obstruct, force, trouble, err”), equivalent to mar + -ed.
From mar.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.