slur meaning

slur as a verb

1. play smoothly or legato
   • the pianist slurred the most beautiful passage in the sonata

   Type of: play

2. speak disparagingly of; e.g., make a racial slur
   • your comments are slurring your co-workers

   Type of: denote

3. utter indistinctly

   Type of: talk

4. become vague or indistinct
   • The distinction between the two theories blurred

   Synonyms: blur, dim

   Type of: weaken

   Kinds: obliterate

slur as a noun

1. (music) a curved line spanning notes that are to be played legato

   Type of: musical notation

   Kinds: tie

2. a disparaging remark
   • in the 19th century any reference to female sexuality was considered a vile aspersion
   • it is difficult for a woman to understand a man's sensitivity to any slur on his virility

   Synonyms: aspersion

   Type of: disparagement

   Kinds: ethnic slur

3. a blemish made by dirt
   • he had a smudge on his cheek

   Synonyms: smudge, spot, blot, daub, smear, smirch

   Type of: blemish

   Kinds: blotch, fingermark, inkblot

slur in a sentence

• If cis was a slur, you'd be allowed to say it on Elon Musk's Twitter.
• My uncle would always slur his words when he had had too much to drink.
• Matthew called Walid horrible names and racial slurs.
• The settlers were chanting Islamophobic slurs.
• Negro is a word in the Spanish language, racist people just made it to a racial slur.

How to pronounce slur

slur is pronounced /slɜː/ in British English and /slɝ/ in American English. It has 1 syllable.

Words that rhyme with slur

• transfer
• spur
• stir
• refer
• blur
• prefer
• err
• fur
• defer
• infer
• occur
• recur
• sir
• deter
• incur
• inter
• confer
• connoisseur
• entrepreneur
• fir
• purr
• voyeur
• saboteur