blear

Also found in: Thesaurus.

Related to blear: blare

blear

(blîr)

tr.v. bleared, blear·ing, blears

1. To blur or redden (the eyes).

2. To blur; dim.

adj.

Bleary.

[Middle English bleren.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

blear

(blɪə)

(tr) to make (eyes or sight) dim with or as if with tears; blur

adj

a less common word for bleary

[C13: blere to make dim; related to Middle High German blerre blurred vision]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

blear

(blɪər)
v.t.

1. to make dim, as with tears or inflammation.

adj.

2. (of the eyes) dim from tears.

3. dim; indistinct.

4. a blur; cloudiness; dimness.

[1250–1300; Middle English bleri, blere, of obscure orig.]

blear′ed•ness, n.

blear

Past participle: bleared
Gerund: blearing

Imperative
blear
blear

Present
I blear
you blear
he/she/it blears
we blear
you blear
they blear

Preterite
I bleared
you bleared
he/she/it bleared
we bleared
you bleared
they bleared

Present Continuous
I am blearing
you are blearing
he/she/it is blearing
we are blearing
you are blearing
they are blearing

Present Perfect
I have bleared
you have bleared
he/she/it has bleared
we have bleared
you have bleared
they have bleared

Past Continuous
I was blearing
you were blearing
he/she/it was blearing
we were blearing
you were blearing
they were blearing

Past Perfect
I had bleared
you had bleared
he/she/it had bleared
we had bleared
you had bleared
they had bleared

Future
I will blear
you will blear
he/she/it will blear
we will blear
you will blear
they will blear

Future Perfect
I will have bleared
you will have bleared
he/she/it will have bleared
we will have bleared
you will have bleared
they will have bleared

Future Continuous
I will be blearing
you will be blearing
he/she/it will be blearing
we will be blearing
you will be blearing
they will be blearing

Present Perfect Continuous
I have been blearing
you have been blearing
he/she/it has been blearing
we have been blearing
you have been blearing
they have been blearing

Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been blearing
you will have been blearing
he/she/it will have been blearing
we will have been blearing
you will have been blearing
they will have been blearing

Past Perfect Continuous
I had been blearing
you had been blearing
he/she/it had been blearing
we had been blearing
you had been blearing
they had been blearing

Conditional
I would blear
you would blear
he/she/it would blear
we would blear
you would blear
they would blear

Past Conditional
I would have bleared
you would have bleared
he/she/it would have bleared
we would have bleared
you would have bleared
they would have bleared

Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Switch to new thesaurus

Verb	1.	blear - make dim or indistinct; "The fog blurs my vision" blur alter, change, modify - cause to change; make different; cause a transformation; "The advent of the automobile may have altered the growth pattern of the city"; "The discussion has changed my thinking about the issue"
Adj.	1.	blear - tired to the point of exhaustion blear-eyed, bleary, bleary-eyed tired - depleted of strength or energy; "tired mothers with crying babies"; "too tired to eat"

blear

verb

To make dim or indistinct:

becloud, bedim, befog, blur, cloud, dim, dull, eclipse, fog, gloom, mist, obfuscate, obscure, overcast, overshadow, shadow.

adjective

Not clearly perceived or perceptible:

bleary, cloudy, dim, faint, foggy, fuzzy, hazy, indefinite, indistinct, misty, obscure, shadowy, unclear, undistinct, vague.

Mentioned in ?

References in classic literature ?

"I am very glad to see you, Captain Dobbin, sir," says he, after a skulking look or two at his visitor (whose lanky figure and military appearance caused some excitement likewise to twinkle in the blear eyes of the waiter in the cracked dancing pumps, and awakened the old lady in black, who dozed among the mouldy old coffee-cups in the bar).

View in context

I will begin by disguising you so that no human being shall know you; I will cover your body with wrinkles; you shall lose all your yellow hair; I will clothe you in a garment that shall fill all who see it with loathing; I will blear your fine eyes for you, and make you an unseemly object in the sight of the suitors, of your wife, and of the son whom you left behind you.

As she spoke Minerva touched him with her wand and covered him with wrinkles, took away all his yellow hair, and withered the flesh over his whole body; she bleared his eyes, which were naturally very fine ones; she changed his clothes and threw an old rag of a wrap about him, and a tunic, tattered, filthy, and begrimed with smoke; she also gave him an undressed deer skin as an outer garment, and furnished him with a staff and a wallet all in holes, with a twisted thong for him to sling it over his shoulder.

View in context

No, faith; and between a woman's 'yes' and 'no' I wouldn't venture to put the point of a pin, for there would not be room for it; if you tell me Quiteria loves Basilio heart and soul, then I'll give him a bag of good luck; for love, I have heard say, looks through spectacles that make copper seem gold, poverty wealth, and blear eyes pearls."

View in context

There she beheld another countenance, of a man well stricken in years, a pale, thin, scholar-like visage, with eyes dim and bleared by the lamp-light that had served them to pore over many ponderous books.

View in context

They had grown gray in study; their eyes were bleared with poring over print and manuscript by the light of the midnight lamp.

View in context

The tall lad, standing in the porch, turned his bleared eyes from the publican to the smith and back again as if considering whom he ought to fight now.

View in context

He gorged himself habitually at table, which made him bilious, and gave him a dim and bleared eye and flabby cheeks.

View in context

I followed him in, and I remember observing the contrast the neat, bright doctor, with his powder as white as snow and his bright, black eyes and pleasant manners, made with the coltish country folk, and above all, with that filthy, heavy, bleared scarecrow of a pirate of ours, sitting, far gone in rum, with his arms on the table.

View in context

They swaggered unsteadily but belligerently toward the bar and looked at Pete with bleared and blinking eyes.

View in context

She appeared to be dazzled by the sudden blaze of light, and after dropping a curtsey, she stood blinking at us with her bleared eyes and fumbling in her pocket with nervous, shaky fingers.

View in context

Mrs Blear said: "I am looking to make it easier to hold a vote on creating elected mayors.