as in smiled
to express an emotion (as amusement) by curving the lips upward
grinned at the kids' fooling around in the pool
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of grinned
Jameson grinned in the photo as his proud dad snapped his picture.
—
Hannah Sacks, PEOPLE, 17 Oct. 2025
The minister grinned, refused to commit himself, and then stood up for a round of photographs.
—Samanth Subramanian, The Dial, 14 Oct. 2025
When asked how to manage a defense with two rookie starters, defensive coordinator Vic Fangio held up crossed fingers with both hands and grinned.
—Brooks Kubena, New York Times, 1 Oct. 2025
Surtain grinned on Thursday when asked if Chase would want revenge.
—Luca Evans, Denver Post, 26 Sep. 2025
The big blue gum out front clawed at the darkness, the hillside in back sank into a void of shadow, and the sky grinned its canescent grin.
—T. Coraghessan Boyle, New Yorker, 14 Sep. 2025
She was dressed in green and gold and had a beaming smile on her face as Justin grinned at her.
—Michael Nied, People.com, 2 Sep. 2025
Hicks, who watched the show at a downtown fire station, grinned as Tooter joked with Rosie.
—Miami Herald Archives, Miami Herald, 15 Aug. 2025
Mahomes grinned and added a good-natured jab at his teammate.
—Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 14 Aug. 2025
Hannah Sacks, PEOPLE, 17 Oct. 2025
The minister grinned, refused to commit himself, and then stood up for a round of photographs.
—Samanth Subramanian, The Dial, 14 Oct. 2025
When asked how to manage a defense with two rookie starters, defensive coordinator Vic Fangio held up crossed fingers with both hands and grinned.
—Brooks Kubena, New York Times, 1 Oct. 2025
Surtain grinned on Thursday when asked if Chase would want revenge.
—Luca Evans, Denver Post, 26 Sep. 2025
The big blue gum out front clawed at the darkness, the hillside in back sank into a void of shadow, and the sky grinned its canescent grin.
—T. Coraghessan Boyle, New Yorker, 14 Sep. 2025
She was dressed in green and gold and had a beaming smile on her face as Justin grinned at her.
—Michael Nied, People.com, 2 Sep. 2025
Hicks, who watched the show at a downtown fire station, grinned as Tooter joked with Rosie.
—Miami Herald Archives, Miami Herald, 15 Aug. 2025
Mahomes grinned and added a good-natured jab at his teammate.
—Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 14 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for grinned
Verb
-
Leaning from the windows, the passengers smiled and waved to cheering crowds eagerly awaiting their return.—
Elmira Aliieva,
NBC news,
14 Oct. 2025
-
Next to Moore’s locker, right guard Trey Smith smiled in awe at what his fellow lineman had accomplished, considering the circumstances.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
13 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
When Schneider finally marched to the mound in the seventh to take the ball, members of the rotation gathered by the dugout railing and laughed.—
Mitch Bannon,
New York Times,
17 Oct. 2025
-
Simmons, Stanley, and drummer Peter Criss initially laughed at his bell bottom trousers and multi-colored shoes.—
Andy Greene,
Rolling Stone,
16 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Grinned.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/grinned. Accessed 22 Oct. 2025.
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