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blur (blûr)
Share:
v. blurred, blur·ring, blurs
v.tr.
1. To make indistinct and hazy in outline or appearance; obscure: The haze blurred the skyline.
2. To make dim, unclear, or cloudy: The smoke blurred my vision.
3. To cause to be intellectually indistinguishable: New thinking has blurred the divisions between disciplines.
v.intr.
1. To become visually indistinct: The faces blurred in the crowd.
2. To be unclear or clouded: His vision blurred as the drug took effect.
3. To become intellectually indistinguishable: TV commercials and shows seem to blur into one another.
n.
Something that is hazy and indistinct to the sight or mind.
[Probably akin to Middle English bleren, to blear.]
blurri·ness n.
blurry adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2020 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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