Definition

1. Verb:

   • To make something dim, unclear, or indistinct, especially to the eyes or vision.
   • To cause something to become hazy or blurred.

2. Adjective (archaic or literary):

   • Dim, blurred, or filmy, often due to tears, tiredness, or sleep.
   • (Of the eyes) Dull, watery, or inflamed.

Examples of Usage

• Verb:
  • The morning fog began to blear the distant hills, softening their outlines.
  • Tears bleared her vision as she read the letter.
• Adjective:
  • He peered at me with blear eyes after a sleepless night. (Note: This adjectival use is less common in modern English.)

Advanced Usage

• "Bleared" is the more common past participle form used adjectivally in modern English to describe something that has been made blurry.
  • His vision was bleared with fatigue.
  • The bleared windows made it hard to see outside.

Variants and Related Words

• Bleary (adj): This is the most common modern adjective form, meaning dim, blurred, or tired-looking.
  • She rubbed her bleary eyes.
• Blear-eyed (adj): Having eyes that are dim, tired, or watery.
  • The blear-eyed student struggled to focus on the textbook.

Synonyms

• Verb: Blur, dim, obscure, cloud, befog.
• Adjective (Bleary): Blurred, filmy, foggy, misty, watery.

Related Phrases

• To blear someone's eyes: An older phrase meaning to deceive or trick someone (literally, to dim their perception).
  • He tried to blear their eyes with false promises. (This usage is now very rare.)

Notes on Usage

• The verb "blear" is formal and somewhat literary. In everyday speech, "blur" is more frequently used.
• The adjective "blear" is largely archaic. The adjective "bleary" is standard in contemporary English.

Adjective

1. tired to the point of exhaustion

Verb

1. make dim or indistinct
   • The fog blurs my vision