I. slur 1 /slɜː $ slɜːr/ BrE AmE verb ( past tense and past participle slurred , present participle slurring )
[ Sense 1,3: Date: 1700-1800 ; Origin: Probably from Low German slurrn 'to shuffle' ]
[ Sense 2: Date: 1600-1700 ; Origin: slur 'thin mud' (15-19 centuries) ]
1 . [intransitive and transitive] to speak unclearly without separating your words or sounds correctly
slur your words/speech
She was slurring her words as if she was drunk.
His voice sounded slurred.
2 . [transitive] to criticize someone or something unfairly
3 . [transitive] to play a group of musical notes smoothly together
II. slur 2 BrE AmE noun [countable]
1 . an unfair criticism that is intended to make people dislike someone or something
slur on/against
Milton regarded her comment as a slur on his country.
How dare she cast a slur on (=criticize) my character?
a racist slur
2 . technical a curved line written over musical notes to show they must be played together smoothly