Synonyms of grinning

grinning 1 of 2

adjective

as in smiling

Related Words

• smiling
• laughing
• beaming
• joyous
• delighted
• joyful
• gleeful
• satisfied
• jovial
• glad
• blissful
• merry
• happy
• pleased
• mirthful
• gratified
• jolly
• tickled
• unconcerned
• carefree
• boon
• careless
• lighthearted
• cavalier
• insouciant
• easygoing
• perky
• jocund
• jaunty
• chirpy
• optimistic
• lively
• sprightly
• vivacious
• animated
• lilting
• hopeful
• rosy
• sanguine
• happy-go-lucky
• cheerful
• cheery
• devil-may-care
• buoyant
• upbeat
• chipper
• blithe
• sunny
• sprightful
• gay
• blithesome
• winsome
• gladsome
• bright
• canty
• eupeptic
• lightsome

Dissimilar Words

• sullen
• sulky
• glum
• gloomy
• morose
• dour
• saturnine
• sad
• unhappy
• unsatisfied
• joyless
• listless
• dull
• sluggish
• lethargic
• blue
• crestfallen
• downcast
• forlorn
• torpid
• disconsolate
• mirthless
• dejected
• down
• depressed
• despondent
• sorrowful
• melancholy
• hangdog
• inconsolable
• low
• droopy
• disheartened
• brokenhearted
• downhearted
• low-spirited
• heavyhearted

grinning

2 of 2

verb

present participle of grin

as in laughing

to express an emotion (as amusement) by curving the lips upward

grinned at the kids' fooling around in the pool

Synonyms & Similar Words

• smiling
• laughing
• beaming
• smirking
• sneering
• simpering

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• grimacing
• frowning
• scowling
• glaring
• glowering
• lowering
• pouting
• sulking
• glooming

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of grinning

Verb

Prince William had a rare casual moment while go-karting in July 1988 at Buckmore Park Playscape, captured in a portrait of him grinning while holding his helmet. — Bailey Bujnosek, InStyle, 22 July 2026

In the winning clubhouse Sunday afternoon, White Sox prospect Caleb Bonemer couldn’t stop grinning. — Meghan Montemurro, Chicago Tribune, 12 July 2026

The coach of everyone’s favorite team to adore – rowing, grinning, flowing-haired Norway – saw this coming. — Mark Sappenfield, Christian Science Monitor, 7 July 2026

In reality, Platner was the Democratic-candidate equivalent of the grinning empty suit who gets the job after a handshake because the boss likes the cut of his jib. — Jonathan Chait, The Atlantic, 6 July 2026

The images are of snow-heavy trees, a chairlift overhead, and Kerstin grinning with ski goggles lifted. — William Finnegan, New Yorker, 29 June 2026

Video captured during Kitty and Amaya's arrests shows both women grinning as law enforcement places them in their police vehicles. — Mateo Rosiles, USA Today, 29 June 2026

Cusack and Burke were photographed grinning ear-to-ear at the premiere of Cradle Will Rock in 1999. — Laura Millar, PEOPLE, 20 June 2026

Scary Movie 1 star Jon Abrahams returns to menace Cindy, his ex, by grinning at her like a maniac in a psychiatric holding facility. — Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 5 June 2026