besmog

transitive verb

be·​smog bi-ˈsmäg 

bē-

besmogged; besmogging; besmogs

1

: to fill (an area) with smog

It has since fallen prey to the concrete tentacles of outward-thrusting San Jose, which has besmogged what was once a garden spot of the world.

—Thomas Andrew Bailey, The American Pageant Revisited, 1982

As a consequence of this increasing urban concentration, cities and their surroundings have become increasingly congested, cluttered, blighted and besmogged.

—The President's Council on Recreation and Natural Beauty, From Sea to Shining Sea, 1968

Pollution in Los Angeles is a serious health hazard, but how may the citizens of that besmogged metropolis sue?

—Ralph Nader, The Ralph Nader Reader, 2000

2

: to obscure (something) as if with smog

The blurry line between television news and show business was further besmogged recently by a "Special All-Star Issue" of TV Guide, that drum beater for commercial television.

—Walter Goodman, New York Times, 9 May 1996

Word History

First Known Use

1955, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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