tr.v. scum·bled, scum·bling, scum·bles 1. To soften the colors or outlines of (a painting or drawing) by covering with a film of opaque or semiopaque color or by rubbing. 2. To blur the outlines of: a writer who scumbled the line that divides history and fiction. n. 1. The effect produced by or as if by scumbling. 2. Material used for scumbling. [Possibly from SCUM.] |
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