as in ingratiation
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of smarm
The movie’s entrancing and melancholy beauty feels old-fashioned in a contemporary animation world largely defined by clutter and smarm.
—
Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 31 May 2024
Oliver brings in Matthew Broderick, playing himself with exaggerated smarm, who effortlessly breezes through the patter song.
—Tim Greiving, Los Angeles Times, 28 May 2024
That barreling is assisted mightily by the two male characters in the narrative, who take turns maximizing smarm and misogyny.
—David John Chávez, The Mercury News, 13 Mar. 2024
Occasionally, these DMs teeter dangerously on the edge of smarm, like a small orange card, taped to a light pole, with a handwritten insistence:
But usually, whether ephemeral guerrilla art, stern warnings or idle musings, the messages have a similar effect.
—Dodai Stewart, New York Times, 26 June 2023
See All Example Sentences for smarm
Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 31 May 2024
Oliver brings in Matthew Broderick, playing himself with exaggerated smarm, who effortlessly breezes through the patter song.
—Tim Greiving, Los Angeles Times, 28 May 2024
That barreling is assisted mightily by the two male characters in the narrative, who take turns maximizing smarm and misogyny.
—David John Chávez, The Mercury News, 13 Mar. 2024
Occasionally, these DMs teeter dangerously on the edge of smarm, like a small orange card, taped to a light pole, with a handwritten insistence:
But usually, whether ephemeral guerrilla art, stern warnings or idle musings, the messages have a similar effect.
—Dodai Stewart, New York Times, 26 June 2023
See All Example Sentences for smarm
Recent Examples of Synonyms for smarm
Noun
-
Carro's paper suggests that obvious sycophancy significantly reduces user trust.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
21 Apr. 2025
-
Hierarchies breed a hell of a lot of sycophancy and resentment, and this one is no different.—
Hillary Kelly,
The Atlantic,
14 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
While consumer advocacy groups and some tax experts have praised Direct File for creating a free pathway for some taxpayers to file their returns, the service hasn't earned universal praise.—
Alain Sherter,
CBS News,
22 Apr. 2025
-
None of these shows have quite captured the zeitgeist like The Mandalorian did or garnered the critical praise of Andor.—
Eliana Dockterman,
Time,
22 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Smarm.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/smarm. Accessed 4 May. 2025.
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