smudging

noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"smudging" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“smudging” is uncommon English (frequency #86,767 among 6,566 “S” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#86,767
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The act of something being smudged.

Corpus desk

Index EN-smudging · smudging · English

smudging · rank #86,767 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #86,767
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH slumming

Nearest frequency peer: slumming (-3 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbourhood for “smudging”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “smudging” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for smudging
PropertyValue
Headwordsmudging
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters8
Frequency rank#86,767
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “smudging” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). smudging lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

smudging is uncommon English at frequency #86,767 among 6,566 “S” headwords, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for smudging, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct English form is smudging, spelled S-M-U-D-G-I-N-G.

Definition

  1. 1
    The act of something being smudged.
  2. 2
    A stain or smear left by something being smudged.
  3. 3
    Suffumigation.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how smudging appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Besides, the body paint would probably be visible on the sheets as dark smudgings, since the films were merely in black and white.
  2. One of the most common forms of purification is done with smoke, using some kind of smoking or smudging.

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "smudging"?
"smudging" is spelled S-M-U-D-G-I-N-G.
What does "smudging" mean?
As a noun, "smudging" means: The act of something being smudged.
What language does "smudging" come from?
"smudging" is a English word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "smudging", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

slumming#86,764slugfest#86,763skullcap#86,761Speyside#86,774

What to do next

You've looked up "smudging". Here's where to go from here.

  • Usage frequency rank #86,767 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more English words in the "S" letter cohort. S–Z browse
  • PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list