as in cute
making light of something usually regarded as serious or sacred
your smarty-pants comments aren't helping matters any
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in smarty
a person who likes to show off in a clever but annoying way
I don't need to hear from some smarty-pants second-guesser that the theme for the party is all wrong
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of smarty-pants
Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 18 Mar. 2026
Eventually, the game builds to its own metafictional deconstruction, albeit in a way that lands as an emotional gut punch rather than smarty-pants twist.
—Lewis Gordon, Vulture, 3 Dec. 2025
Plural noun
Rolling off the bed in a silicon sleep cocoon, Grace gradually evolves from a wriggling larval stage into a fully upright, walking and talking smarty-pants.
—Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 18 Mar. 2026
Eventually, the game builds to its own metafictional deconstruction, albeit in a way that lands as an emotional gut punch rather than smarty-pants twist.
—Lewis Gordon, Vulture, 3 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for smarty-pants
Adjective
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But there’s nothing wrong with getting something cute with a tomato or a cherry on it.—
Emily Johnson,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
20 Mar. 2026
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Despite its cute, turkey-sized appearance, the Doolysaurus was a hardy survivor.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
19 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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The town is now actively monitoring water use, using smart meters in some cases and on-the-ground enforcement in others.—
Jamie Leary,
CBS News,
21 Mar. 2026
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And logging the vast majority of those runs at a slow pace is a smarter, safer way to achieve that.—
Jenny McCoy,
SELF,
20 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Smarty-pants.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/smarty-pants. Accessed 22 Mar. 2026.
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