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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Recent Examples of grinned
Ed, who was in his 60s, grinned.
—
Nick Dothée, Los Angeles Times, 30 Jan. 2026
As red and white confetti rained down onto the field at Hard Rock Stadium Monday night, Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti — known for his stern demeanor on the field — widely grinned towards his players and coaches knowing his team had done what many previously thought was impossible.
—Greg Rosenstein, NBC news, 20 Jan. 2026
The pilot, Jonathon Rae, a young Aussie with a dashing mustache, looked down and grinned.
—Susan Casey, Travel + Leisure, 10 Jan. 2026
The bare-faced mom grinned while snapping a selfie with her baby in a crib behind her.
—Raven Brunner, PEOPLE, 1 Jan. 2026
Bidunga grinned when asked about the players dumping water on their coach.
—Kansas City Star, 26 Nov. 2025
Yazid watched the other boys hurrying away, then turned to him and grinned.
—Daniyal Mueenuddin, New Yorker, 23 Nov. 2025
Netanyahu did, then nodded and grinned.
—Aluf Benn, Foreign Affairs, 10 Nov. 2025
The remarks were followed by a roughly 30-second standing ovation, including from former Vice President Dick Cheney, as Pelosi grinned in approval.
—Max Rego, The Hill, 6 Nov. 2025
Nick Dothée, Los Angeles Times, 30 Jan. 2026
As red and white confetti rained down onto the field at Hard Rock Stadium Monday night, Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti — known for his stern demeanor on the field — widely grinned towards his players and coaches knowing his team had done what many previously thought was impossible.
—Greg Rosenstein, NBC news, 20 Jan. 2026
The pilot, Jonathon Rae, a young Aussie with a dashing mustache, looked down and grinned.
—Susan Casey, Travel + Leisure, 10 Jan. 2026
The bare-faced mom grinned while snapping a selfie with her baby in a crib behind her.
—Raven Brunner, PEOPLE, 1 Jan. 2026
Bidunga grinned when asked about the players dumping water on their coach.
—Kansas City Star, 26 Nov. 2025
Yazid watched the other boys hurrying away, then turned to him and grinned.
—Daniyal Mueenuddin, New Yorker, 23 Nov. 2025
Netanyahu did, then nodded and grinned.
—Aluf Benn, Foreign Affairs, 10 Nov. 2025
The remarks were followed by a roughly 30-second standing ovation, including from former Vice President Dick Cheney, as Pelosi grinned in approval.
—Max Rego, The Hill, 6 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for grinned
Verb
-
In the moment, Peterson nodded, smiled and took in the scene.—
Shreyas Laddha,
Kansas City Star,
3 Feb. 2026
-
Men wearing gray jumpsuits from ICE detention smiled and thanked then-President Nicolás Maduro, showed another.—
Maeva Bambuck,
CNN Money,
1 Feb. 2026
Verb
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When snowflakes began to fall, some stuck their tongues out and laughed, playfully nudging one another.—
Eva Roytburg,
Fortune,
4 Feb. 2026
-
Texas State pitcher Madison Azua simultaneously groaned and laughed while recounting the near-torturous exercises the program put her and teammates through.—
Caleb Yum,
Austin American Statesman,
3 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Grinned.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/grinned. Accessed 7 Feb. 2026.
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