besmirch vs smear

besmirch is not a noun while smear is a noun.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
besmirch	No	No	Yes	No
smear	Yes	No	Yes	No

As verbs, besmirch and smear are synonyms defined as:

besmirch and smear: charge falsely or with malicious intent; attack the good name and reputation of someone

Other synonyms of besmirch include asperse, calumniate, defame, denigrate, slander, smirch, sully.

As verbs, smear is a hypernym of besmirch; that is, smear is a word with a broader meaning than besmirch:

besmirch (noun)	smear (noun)
	an act that brings discredit to the person who does it
	a blemish made by dirt
	a thin tissue or blood sample spread on a glass slide and stained for cytologic examination and diagnosis under a microscope
	slanderous defamation

besmirch (verb)	smear (verb)
charge falsely or with malicious intent; attack the good name and reputation of someone	charge falsely or with malicious intent; attack the good name and reputation of someone
smear so as to make dirty or stained	make a smudge on; soil by smudging
	stain by smearing or daubing with a dirty substance
	cover (a surface) by smearing (a substance) over it