slur
noun/slɜː(r)/
/slɜːr/
- an offensive term used deliberately to show a lack of respect for a particular group of people
- a/an racial/homophobic/antisemitic slur
- The group continued to yell slurs.
Extra Examples- The tweet contained an offensive slur against Indigenous people.
- A few bigots in the crowd shouted slurs towards some of the players.
Definitions on the go
Look up any word in the dictionary offline, anytime, anywhere with the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary app.
- slur (on somebody/something) an unfair remark about somebody/something that may damage other people’s opinion of them synonym insult
- She had dared to cast a slur on his character.
Extra ExamplesTopics Opinion and argumentc2- a slur on his good name
- It's easy to cast around unsubstantiated smears and slurs.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- racial
- racist
- sexual
- …
- cast
- make
- slur against
- slur on
- (music) a curved sign used to show that two or more notes are to be played smoothly and without a break
Word OriginMiddle English: originally as noun in sense ‘thin, fluid mud’, later as verb meaning ‘smear’, ‘belittle (a person)’, ‘gloss over (a fault)’.
Check pronunciation:
slur