music A curved line spanning notes that are to be played legato.

Roget 937: vindication, justification, warrant; exoneration, exculpation; acquittal etc. 970; whitewashing.    extenuation; palliation, palliative; softening, mitigation.    reply, defense; recrimination etc. 938.    apology, gloss, varnish; plea etc. 617; salvo; excuse, extenuating circumstances; allowance, allowance to be made; locus paenitentiae [Lat.].    apologist, vindicator, justifier; defendant etc. 938.    justifiable charge, true bill.    v.. justify, warrant; be an excuse for etc. n.; lend a color, furnish a handle; vindicate; exculpate, disculpate^†; acquit etc. 970; clear, set right, exonerate, whitewash; clear the skirts of.    extenuate, palliate, excuse, soften, apologize, varnish, slur, gloze; put a gloss, put a good face upon; mince; gloss over, bolster up, help a lame dog over a stile.    advocate, defend, plead one's cause; stand up for, stick up for, speak up for; contend for, speak for; bear out, keep in countenance, support; plead &c., 617; say in defense; plead ignorance; confess and avoid, propugn^†, put in a good word for.    take the will for the deed, make allowance for, give credit for, do justice to; give one his due, give the Devil his due.    make good; prove the truth of, prove one's case; be justified by the event.    ... show more

Roget 938: accusation, charge, imputation, slur, inculpation, exprobration^†, delation; crimination; incrimination, accrimination^†, recrimination; tu quoque argument [Lat.]; invective etc. 932.    denunciation, denouncement; libel, challenge, citation, arraignment; impeachment, appeachment^†; indictment, bill of indictment, true bill; lawsuit etc. 969; condemnation etc. 971.    gravamen of a charge, head and front of one's offending, argumentum ad hominem [Lat.]; scandal etc. (detraction) 934; scandalum magnatum [Lat.].    accuser, prosecutor, plaintiff; relator, informer; appellant.    accused, defendant, prisoner, perpetrator, panel, respondent; litigant.    ... show more

Dutch: legatoboog

A disparaging remark:
— It is difficult for a woman to understand a man's sensitivity to any slur on his virility.

synonym: aspersion.

Dutch: geroddel, kwaadsprekerij, laster
Polish: łatka

A blemish made by dirt.

synonyms: blot, daub, smear, smirch, smudge, spot.

Roget 874: disrepute, discredit; ill repute, bad repute, bad name, bad odor, bad favor, ill name, ill odor, ill favor; disapprobation etc. 932; ingloriousness, derogation; abasement, debasement; abjectness etc. adj.; degradation, dedecoration^†; a long farewell to all my greatness [Henry VIII]; odium, obloquy, opprobrium, ignominy.    dishonor, disgrace; shame, humiliation; scandal, baseness, vileness^†; turpitude etc. (improbity) 940^†; infamy.    tarnish, taint, defilement, pollution.    stain, blot, spot, blur, stigma, brand, reproach, imputation, slur.    crying shame, burning shame; scandalum magnatum [Lat.], badge of infamy, blot in one's escutcheon; bend sinister, bar sinister; champain^†, point champain^†; byword of reproach; Ichabod.    argumentum ad verecundiam [Lat.]; sense of shame etc. 879.    ... show more

Dutch: schandvlek, klad, smet, vlek
Polish: plama

Play smoothly or legato.

Roget 938: accuse, charge, tax, impute, twit, taunt with, reproach.    brand with reproach; stigmatize, slur; cast a stone at, cast a slur on; incriminate, criminate; inculpate, implicate; call to account etc. (censure) 932; take to blame, take to task; put in the black book.    inform against, indict, denounce, arraign; impeach, appeach^†; have up, show up, pull up; challenge, cite, lodge a complaint; prosecute, bring an action against etc. 969; blow upon.    charge with, saddle with; lay to one's door, lay charge; lay the blame on, bring home to; cast in one's teeth, throw in one's teeth; cast the first stone at.    have a rod in pickle for, keep a rod in pickle for; have a crow to pluck with.    trump up a charge.    ... show more

Roget 874: be inglorious etc. adj.; incur disgrace etc. n.; have a bad name, earn a bad name; put a halter round one's neck, wear a halter round one's neck; disgrace oneself, expose oneself.    play second fiddle; lose caste; pale one's ineffectual fire; recede into the shade; fall from one's high estate; keep in the background etc. (modesty) 881; be conscious of disgrace etc. (humility) 879; look blue, look foolish, look like a fool; cut a poor figure, cut a sorry figure; laugh on the wrong side of the mouth; make a sorry face, go away with a flea in.    one's ear, slink away.    cause shame etc. n.; shame, disgrace, put to shame, dishonor; throw dishonor upon, cast dishonor upon, fling dishonor upon, reflect dishonor upon etc. n.; be a reproach etc. n.. to; derogate from.    tarnish, stain, blot sully, taint; discredit; degrade, debase, defile; beggar; expel etc. (punish) 972.    impute shame to, brand, post, stigmatize, vilify, defame, slur, cast a slur upon, hold up to shame, send to Coventry; tread under foot, trample under foot; show up, drag through the mire, heap dirt upon; reprehend etc. 932.    bring low, put down, snub; take down a peg, take down a peg lower, take down a peg or two.    obscure.    eclipse, outshine, take the shine out of; throw into the shade, cast into the shade; overshadow; leave in the background, put in the background; push into a corner, put one's nose out of joint; put out, put out of countenance.    upset, throw off one's center; discompose, disconcert; put to the blush etc. (humble) 879.    ... show more

Roget 460: be negligent etc. adj.; take no care of etc. (take care of) etc. 459; neglect; let slip, let go; lay aside, set aside, cst aside, put aside; keep out of sight, put out of sight; lose sight of.    overlook, disregard; pass over, pas by; let pass; blink; wink at, connive at; gloss over; take no note of, take no thought of, take no account of, take no notice of; pay no regard to; laisser aller [Fr.].    scamp; trifle, fribble^†; do by halves; cut; slight etc. (despise) 930; play with, trifle with; slur, skim, skim the surface; effleurer [Fr.]; take a cursory view of etc. 457.    slur over, skip over, jump over, slip over; pretermit^†, miss, skip, jump, omit, give the go-by to, push aside, pigeonhole, shelve, sink; table [Parl.]; ignore, shut one's eyes to, refuse to hear, turn a deaf ear to; leave out of one's calculation; not attend to etc. 457, not mind; not trouble oneself about, not trouble one's head about, not trouble oneself with; forget etc. 506; be caught napping etc. (not expect) 508; leave a loose thread; let the grass grow under one's feet.    render neglectful etc. adj.; put off one's guard, throw off one's guard; distract, divert.    ... show more

Speak disparagingly of; e.g., make a racial slur.

Utter indistinctly.

Become vague or indistinct.

synonyms: blur, dim.

Dutch: bekladden, vervagen