simpered; simpering
ˈsim-p(ə-)riŋ 
; simpers
; simpers
: to smile in a silly, affected, or ingratiating manner
Through force of will, she escaped the narrowness of Victorian daughterhood, the polite world of needlework and simpering over teacups that had always bored her.—
Matthew Dennison
Matthew Dennison… in September, … Pee-wee made a surprise appearance to open the MTV Video Music Awards in Los Angeles. Wide-eyed and simpering, this target of a thousand barbs asked innocently, "Heard any good jokes lately?" The audience roared—and rose to its feet, cheering.—People Weekly
People WeeklyOr did he really mean that she should simper sweetly to get her way or, alternatively, give in gracefully to whatever the men in cabinet wanted—and then face the inevitable criticism that she was ineffectual and proof that women couldn't lead?—Janine Haines
Janine Haines
: to say with a simper
simpered an apology
plural simpers
: a silly, affected, or ingratiating smile
"I'm sure I must have misunderstood you, Professor Dumbledore," she said with a simper that left her big, round eyes as cold as ever.—J. K. Rowling
J. K. RowlingBoth stars are superb; adorable yet dangerous, these heroines for our times learn to handle things with a resounding bang, not a girlish simper.—Eleanor Ringel
Eleanor RingelExamples of simper in a Sentence
Verb
He simpered and smirked while he talked to the boss.
She simpered that she had gone to all this trouble for a reason.
Recent Examples on the Web
Michael Barnes, Austin American Statesman, 8 July 2025
As divorce rates rose in the 1970s and 1980s, set off by the same shifting social mores that fueled Women’s Lib, Hollywood reacted in kind, trading simpering visions of American domesticity for lively portraits of familial distress.
—Marley Marius, Vogue, 30 Apr. 2025
Franco is simpering when he wasn’t distracted, and while Hathaway brings a bit of spirit, most of her lines are only half-funny.
—Bill Wyman, Vulture, 28 Feb. 2025
There was Bhanu, the simpering do-nothing who was eventually put out of his misery but shouldn’t have been cast in the first place.
—Brian Moylan, Vulture, 23 May 2024
And Grant has made something of a second career out of playing charmingly louche rogues of late, smiling and simpering to perfection as the greedy backstabbing Forge.
—Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 31 Mar. 2023
Didn’t want to be a part of that simpering sorority, a keeper of that shameful secret (for so it was considered at the time), that failure.
—Alice McDermott, Harper's Magazine, 11 Sep. 2023
But Parker always meant to play the quietly cunning Southern belle as anything but simpering, describing the elder DuBois sister as a mental poker player.
—Helena Andrews-Dyer, Washington Post, 23 June 2023
Seated at a ceremonial desk in an airplane hangar, doling out portions of his kingdom to simpering Goneril (Gilmore) and Regan (Lane), this Lear wears the infuriating smirk of a glutton for praise.
—Peter Marks, Washington Post, 3 Mar. 2023
Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 20 Feb. 2025
Today’s announcement marks the emergence of a new GE, a high-tech industrial GE — simper, stronger, a more focused company at the core.
—Jon Chesto, BostonGlobe.com, 26 June 2018
Al Capone lived as a schoolyard bully, died in a simper with a brain et by syphilis, and lives on through eternity as a cigarillo mascot and gimme film role for dark-haired white actors who want a chance to really chew some scenery.
—Paul Dailing, Chicago Reader, 21 Dec. 2017
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Verb
Brewer, particularly, redefines the bullying aristocrat, played in the movie as a simpering sadist, but a more robust, complicated man onstage.
—Michael Barnes, Austin American Statesman, 8 July 2025
As divorce rates rose in the 1970s and 1980s, set off by the same shifting social mores that fueled Women’s Lib, Hollywood reacted in kind, trading simpering visions of American domesticity for lively portraits of familial distress.
—Marley Marius, Vogue, 30 Apr. 2025
Franco is simpering when he wasn’t distracted, and while Hathaway brings a bit of spirit, most of her lines are only half-funny.
—Bill Wyman, Vulture, 28 Feb. 2025
There was Bhanu, the simpering do-nothing who was eventually put out of his misery but shouldn’t have been cast in the first place.
—Brian Moylan, Vulture, 23 May 2024
And Grant has made something of a second career out of playing charmingly louche rogues of late, smiling and simpering to perfection as the greedy backstabbing Forge.
—Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 31 Mar. 2023
Didn’t want to be a part of that simpering sorority, a keeper of that shameful secret (for so it was considered at the time), that failure.
—Alice McDermott, Harper's Magazine, 11 Sep. 2023
But Parker always meant to play the quietly cunning Southern belle as anything but simpering, describing the elder DuBois sister as a mental poker player.
—Helena Andrews-Dyer, Washington Post, 23 June 2023
Seated at a ceremonial desk in an airplane hangar, doling out portions of his kingdom to simpering Goneril (Gilmore) and Regan (Lane), this Lear wears the infuriating smirk of a glutton for praise.
—Peter Marks, Washington Post, 3 Mar. 2023
Noun
Sandoval, in comparison, sneers and simpers to no success whatsoever; his bad behavior, on and off The Traitors, yields nothing.
—Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 20 Feb. 2025
Today’s announcement marks the emergence of a new GE, a high-tech industrial GE — simper, stronger, a more focused company at the core.
—Jon Chesto, BostonGlobe.com, 26 June 2018
Al Capone lived as a schoolyard bully, died in a simper with a brain et by syphilis, and lives on through eternity as a cigarillo mascot and gimme film role for dark-haired white actors who want a chance to really chew some scenery.
—Paul Dailing, Chicago Reader, 21 Dec. 2017
Cite this Entry
“Simper.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/simper. Accessed 23 Jul. 2025.
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