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
The effervescent 35-year-old grinned from first note to last, triumphantly raising her arms above her head as the song ended.
—
Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 15 Feb. 2026
Mamdani grinned puckishly recalling his mother’s interest in academic achievement.
—Rebecca Traister, Vulture, 10 Feb. 2026
The Disney World first-timer waved at Tigger, grinned for photos with Cinderella and faced down stormtroopers on a Star Wars ride.
—Hannah Sampson, Washington Post, 3 Feb. 2026
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
Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 15 Feb. 2026
Mamdani grinned puckishly recalling his mother’s interest in academic achievement.
—Rebecca Traister, Vulture, 10 Feb. 2026
The Disney World first-timer waved at Tigger, grinned for photos with Cinderella and faced down stormtroopers on a Star Wars ride.
—Hannah Sampson, Washington Post, 3 Feb. 2026
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for grinned
Verb
-
Santa’s not-so-little helper smiled at that one.—
Sean Keeler,
Denver Post,
24 Feb. 2026
-
Dewan, wearing a Los Angeles Dodgers cap, smiled into the camera during their jam session.—
Hannah Malach,
InStyle,
20 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
The vice president and speaker of the House smiled, laughed and rose to their feet, applauding with many in the gallery.—
DP Opinion,
Denver Post,
25 Feb. 2026
-
Most of the men’s team laughed.—
Theodore Tollefson,
Twin Cities,
25 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Grinned.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/grinned. Accessed 27 Feb. 2026.
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