Blot

• POS: Noun, Verb (usu participle)

CIDE DICTIONARY

Blot, v. t. [Cf. Dan. plette. See 3d Blot.].

•  To spot, stain, or bespatter, as with ink.  [1913 Webster]

  "The brief was writ and blotted all with gore."  [1913 Webster]
•  To impair; to damage; to mar; to soil.  [1913 Webster]

  "It blots thy beauty, as frosts do bite the meads."  [1913 Webster]
•  To stain with infamy; to disgrace.  [1913 Webster]

  "Blot not thy innocence with guiltless blood."  [1913 Webster]
•  To obliterate, as writing with ink; to cancel; to efface; -- generally with out; as, to blot out a word or a sentence. Often figuratively; as, to blot out offenses.  [1913 Webster]

  "One act like this blots out a thousand crimes."  [1913 Webster]
•  To obscure; to eclipse; to shadow.  [1913 Webster]

  "He sung how earth blots the moon's gilded wane."  [1913 Webster]
•  To dry, as writing, with blotting paper.  [1913 Webster]

Syn. -- To obliterate; expunge; erase; efface; cancel; tarnish; disgrace; blur; sully; smear; smutch.

Blot, v. i. 

 To take a blot; as, this paper blots easily.  [1913 Webster]

Blot, n. [Cf. Icel. blettr, Dan. plet.].

•  A spot or stain, as of ink on paper; a blur.  Shak.  [1913 Webster]
•  An obliteration of something written or printed; an erasure.  Dryden.  [1913 Webster]
•  A spot on reputation; a stain; a disgrace; a reproach; a blemish.  [1913 Webster]

  "This deadly blot in thy digressing son."  [1913 Webster]

Blot, n. [Cf. Dan. blot bare, naked, Sw. blott, d. bloot, G. bloss, and perh. E. bloat.].

•  An exposure of a single man to be taken up.  [1913 Webster]

  "He is too great a master of his art to make a blot which may be so easily hit."  [1913 Webster]
•  A weak point; a failing; an exposed point or mark.  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

Blot, n. & v.
--n.
1 a spot or stain of ink etc.
2 a moral defect in an otherwise good character; a disgraceful act or quality.
3 any disfigurement or blemish.
--v. (blotted, blotting)
1 a tr. spot or stain with ink; smudge. b intr. (of a pen, ink, etc.) make blots.
2 tr. a use blotting-paper or other absorbent material to absorb excess ink. b (of blotting-paper etc.) soak up (esp. ink).
3 tr. disgrace (blotted his reputation).

Idiom

blot one's copybook damage one's reputation. blot on the escutcheon a disgrace to the family name. blot out
1 a obliterate (writing). b obscure (a view, sound, etc.).
2 obliterate (from the memory) as too painful.
3 destroy. blotting-paper unglazed absorbent paper used for soaking up excess ink.

Etymology

ME prob. f. Scand.: cf. Icel. blettr spot, stain

THESAURUS

Blot

absorb, adsorb, air-dry, anhydrate, annihilate, aspersion, assimilate, attaint, baboon, badge of infamy, bag, bake, bar sinister, baton, bedarken, bend sinister, besmirch, bespatter, bespeckle, bespot, bestain, black, black eye, black mark, blacken, blackwash, blemish, bloodstain, blot out, blot up, blotch, blotting, blotting out, blow upon, blur, brand, broad arrow, brush, burn, cancel, cancellation, censure, champain, charcoal, chemisorb, chemosorb, conceal, cork, cover up, cross out, cure, dab, darken, daub, deface, defame, defect, defile, dehumidify, dehydrate, dele, delete, deletion, demolish, denigrate, desiccate, destroy, digest, dim, dinge, disapprove, discolor, disfigure, disfigurement, disparage, disparagement, dog, drain, drink, drink in, drink up, dry, dysphemize, ebonize, eclipse, efface, effacement, engross, erase, erasure, err, evaporate, expose, expose to infamy, expunction, expunge, exsiccate, eyesore, filter in, fire, flaw, fleck, flick, flyspeck, freckle, fright, gargoyle, gibbet, hag, hang in effigy, harridan, hide, imbibe, imputation, infiltrate, ink, insolate, kiln, look a fright, look a mess, look bad, look like hell, look something terrible, macula, maculate, maculation, macule, mar, mark, mark of Cain, melanize, mess, monster, monstrosity, mummify, murk, nigrify, no beauty, obliterate, obliteration, obscure, odium, offend, offend the eye, onus, osmose, oversmoke, parch, patch, percolate in, pillory, pillorying, point champain, raze, reflection, reprimand, reproach, rub, rub out, rule out, scar, scarecrow, scorch, scratch, scratch out, scrubbing, sear, seep in, shade, shadow, shrivel, sight, sin, slur, slurp up, smear, smirch, smoke, smouch, smudge, smut, smutch, soak in, soak up, soil, soilage, soilure, soot, sorb, spatter, speck, speckle, splash, splatter, splotch, spoil, sponge, sponge out, spot, stain, stigma, stigmatism, stigmatization, stigmatize, strike out, sully, sun, sun-dry, swab, swill up, taint, take in, take up, tarnish, teratism, torrefy, towel, transgress, uglify, ugly duckling, vilify, washing out, weazen, wipe, wipe out, wiping out, witch, wither, wizen

ROGET THESAURUS

Blot

Uncleanness

VB be unclean, become unclean, rot, putrefy, ferment, fester, rankle, reek, stink, mold, molder, go bad, render unclean, dirt, dirty, daub, blot, blur, smudge, smutch, soil, smoke, tarnish, slaver, spot, smear, smirch, begrease, dabble, drabble, draggle, daggle, spatter, slubber, besmear, bemire, beslime, begrime, befoul, splash, stain, distain, maculate, sully, pollute, defile, debase, contaminate, taint, leaven, corrupt, cover with dust, drabble in the mud, roil, wallow in the mire, slobber, slabber.

Blemish

N blemish, disfigurement, deformity, adactylism, flaw, defect, injury, spots on the sun, eyesore, stain, blot, spot, spottiness, speck, speckle, blur, tarnish, smudge, dirt, freckle, mole, macula, patch, blotch, birthmark, blobber lip, blubber lip, blain, maculation, scar, wem, pustule, whelk, excrescence, pimple, pitted, freckled, discolored, imperfect, blobber-lipped, bloodshot, injured.

Disrepute

N disrepute, discredit, ill repute, bad repute, bad name, bad odor, bad favor, ill name, ill odor, ill favor, disapprobation, ingloriousness, derogation, abasement, debasement, abjectness, degradation, dedecoration, a long farewell to all my greatness, odium, obloquy, opprobrium, ignominy, dishonor, disgrace, shame, humiliation, scandal, baseness, vileness, turpitude, infamy, tarnish, taint, defilement, pollution, stain, blot, spot, blur, stigma, brand, reproach, imputation, slur, crying shame, burning shame, scandalum magnatum, badge of infamy, blot in one's escutcheon, bend sinister, bar sinister, champain, point champain, byword of reproach, Ichabod, argumentum ad verecundiam, sense of shame, disgraced, blown upon, shorn of its beams, shorn of one's glory, overcome, downtrodden, loaded with shame, in bad repute, out of repute, out of favor, out of fashion, out of countenance, at a discount, under a cloud, under an eclipse, unable to show one's face, in the shade, in the background, out at elbows, down at the elbows, down in the world, inglorious, nameless, renownless, obscure, unknown to fame, unnoticed, unnoted, unhonored, unglorified, shameful, disgraceful, discreditable, disreputable, despicable, questionable, unbecoming, unworthy, derogatory, degrading, humiliating, infra dignitatem, dedecorous, scandalous, infamous, too bad, unmentionable, ribald, opprobrious, errant, shocking, outrageous, notorious, ignominious, scrubby, dirty, abject, vile, beggarly, pitiful, low, mean, shabby base, to one's shame be it spoken, Int, fie!, shame!, for shame!, proh pudor!, O tempora!, O mores!, ough!, sic transit gloria mundi!.

Guilt

N guilt, guiltiness, culpability, criminality, criminousness, deviation from rectitude, sinfulness, misconduct, misbehavior, misdoing, misdeed, malpractice, fault, sin, error, transgression, dereliction, delinquency, indiscretion, lapse, slip, trip, faux pas, peccadillo, flaw, blot, omission, failing, failure, break, bad break!, capital crime, delictum, offense, trespass, misdemeanor, misfeasance, misprision, malefaction, malfeasance, malversation, crime, felony, enormity, atrocity, outrage, deadly sin, mortal sin, deed without a name, corpus delicti, guilty, to blame, culpable, peccable, in fault, at fault, censurable, reprehensible, blameworthy, uncommendable, illaudable, weighed in the balance and found wanting, exceptionable, in flagrante delicto, red-handed, in the very act, with one's hand in the cookie jar, cui prodest scelus in fecit, culpam paena premit comes, O would the deed were good!, responsibility prevents crimes se judice nemo noce, so many laws argues so many sins.

Blackness

VB be black, render black, blacken, infuscate, denigrate, blot, blotch, smutch, smirch, darken, black, sable, swarthy, somber, dark, inky, ebony, ebon, atramentous, jetty, coal-black, jet-black, fuliginous, pitchy, sooty, swart, dusky, dingy, murky, Ethiopic, low-toned, low in tone, of the deepest dye, black as jet, black as my hat, black as a shoe, black as a tinker's pot, black as November, black as thunder, black as midnight, nocturnal, nigrescent, gray, obscure.

Error

N error, fallacy, misconception, misapprehension, misstanding, misunderstanding, inexactness, laxity, misconstruction, miscomputation, non sequitur, mis-statement, mis-report, mumpsimus, mistake, miss, fault, blunder, quiproquo, cross purposes, oversight, misprint, erratum, corrigendum, slip, blot, flaw, loose thread, trip, stumble, botchery, slip of the tongue, slip of the lip, Freudian slip, slip of the pen, lapsus linguae, clerical error, bull, haplography, illusion, delusion, snare, false impression, false idea, bubble, self-decit, self-deception, mists of error, heresy, hallucination, false light, dream, fable, bias, misleading, erroneous, untrue, false, devoid of truth, fallacious, apocryphal, unreal, ungrounded, groundless, unsubstantial, heretical, unsound, illogical, inexact, unexact inaccurate, incorrect, indefinite, illusive, illusory, delusive, mock, ideal, spurious, deceitful, perverted, controvertible, unsustainable, unauthenticated, untrustworthy, exploded, refuted, discarded, in error, under an error, mistaken, tripping, out, out in one's reckoning, aberrant, beside the mark, wide of the mark, wide of the truth, way off, far off, astray, on a false scent, on the wrong scent, in the wrong box, outside the ballpark, at cross purposes, all in the wrong, all out, more or less, errare est humanum, mentis gratissimus error, on the dubious waves of error tost, to err is human, to forgive divine, you lie -- under a mistake.

Obliteration

N obliteration, erasure, rasure, cancel, cancellation, circumduction, deletion, blot, tabula rasa, effacement, extinction, obliterated, out of print, printless, leaving no trace, intestate, unrecorded, unregistered, unwritten, Int, dele, out with it!, delenda est Carthago.