What does "smut" mean?
Soot.
Smut
/smʌt/ noun, verb, slang
noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Soot.
- Grammar: smut is listed as noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: erotica, obscenity, pornography, soot.
- Useful contrasts: clean, cleanliness, cure.
- Usage evidence: Where did you get that book? You shouldn't be reading such filthy smut.
How to use "smut"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "smut" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "smut" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "smut" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "smut" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "smut" is acting as noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "erotica" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "smut", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Soot. uncountable
- 2 creative activity (writing or pictures or films etc.) of no literary or artistic value other than to stimulate sexual desire wordnet
- 3 A flake of ash or soot. countable
"She reached it soon after half-past two. She found its gloomy nineteenth-century façade, black with the smuts of ninety years, a little daunting, and mounted its broad steps in some trepidation. But she rang the bell hard and knocked firmly."
- 4 an offensive or indecent word or phrase wordnet
- 5 Sexually vulgar material; something that is sexual in a dirty way; pornographic material. uncountable
"The semiology of smut remains fairly unchanging: pasties, thongs, fetishwear-lite, simulated masturbation with the most unlikely of objects."
Show 7 more definitions
- 6 any fungus of the order Ustilaginales wordnet
- 7 Obscene language; ribaldry; obscenity. uncountable
"He does not stand upon decency […] but will talk smut, though a priest and his mother be in the room."
- 8 destructive diseases of plants (especially cereal grasses) caused by fungi that produce black powdery masses of spores wordnet
- 9 Any of a range of fungi, mostly Ustilaginomycetes, that cause plant disease in grasses, including cereal crops; the disease so caused. countable, uncountable
"If the petals of your garden dianthus (pinks) are stained brown, they too are victims of similar smut."
- 10 a black colloidal substance consisting wholly or principally of amorphous carbon and used to make pigments and ink wordnet
- 11 Bad, soft coal containing earthy matter, found in the immediate locality of faults. countable, uncountable
- 12 A copper boiler. archaic, countable, slang
Verb
- 1 To stain (or be stained) with soot or other dirt. ambitransitive
"it bears a very good Crop , and seldom smuts"
- 2 affect with smut or mildew, as of a crop such as corn wordnet
- 3 To taint (grain, etc.) with the smut fungus. transitive
"Mildew also falls upon Corn, and smuts it"
- 4 become affected with smut wordnet
- 5 To become tainted by the smut fungus. intransitive
"It smutted to a far greater degree than the year before, say three fourths, or more. I obtained but little more than the seed sown, and that was handsome wheat. This failure I imputed to the same supposed cause which operated the last year."
Show 3 more definitions
- 6 stain with a dirty substance, such as soot wordnet
- 7 To clear of the smut fungus. transitive
"to smut grain for the mill"
- 8 make obscene wordnet
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"Where did you get that book? You shouldn't be reading such filthy smut."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "smut"?
Common synonyms include: erotica, obscenity, pornography, soot, air pollution, algae.
How do you use "smut" in a sentence?
Where did you get that book? You shouldn't be reading such filthy smut.
How do you pronounce "smut"?
Pronounced /smʌt/.
Etymology
From Middle English smutten (“to defile, debase”), related to German Schmutz (“filth, dirt, smut”) and schmutzen (“to make dirty, stain”). Doublet of schmutz. Compare also Old English smitta (“smear; blot; mark; stain; pollution”), Old English besmītan (“to besmut; defile; dirty; pollute; contaminate”).