Synonyms of smiling

smiling 1 of 3

adjective

as in laughing

Related Words

• laughing
• amused
• jovial
• giggling
• chuckling
• merry
• gleeful
• jolly
• cheerful
• beaming
• mirthful
• cheery
• jocose
• carefree
• festive
• upbeat
• jocular
• blithe
• buoyant
• lighthearted
• sunny
• perky
• joyful
• chipper
• joking
• jubilant
• bouncing
• joyous
• vivacious
• exuberant
• spirited
• lively
• ecstatic
• jocund
• delighted
• enraptured
• jaunty
• animated
• blithesome
• gay
• exultant
• sprightly
• happy
• amusing
• radiant
• rapturous
• blissful
• peppy
• euphoric
• playful
• frisky
• funny
• witty
• hilarious
• blessed
• flippant
• bright
• elated
• optimistic
• overjoyed
• unconcerned
• facetious
• exhilarated
• lightsome
• thrilled
• easygoing
• tickled
• hopeful
• frolicsome
• entranced
• zippy
• sportive
• jesting
• rosy
• gladsome
• ravished
• sanguine
• joshing
• insouciant
• cavalier
• sprightful
• high
• humorous
• comic
• happy-go-lucky
• comical
• riotous
• antic
• uproarious
• farcical
• devil-may-care
• sidesplitting

Dissimilar Words

• crying
• sad
• blue
• unhappy
• depressed
• downcast
• sorrowful
• melancholy
• weeping
• anguished
• glum
• disconsolate
• dejected
• aggrieved
• forlorn
• despondent
• crestfallen
• abject
• wailing
• dispirited
• sobbing
• heartbroken
• saddened
• disheartened
• brokenhearted
• discontented
• disgruntled
• moody
• sorry
• mournful
• black
• plaintive
• heartsick
• gray
• doleful
• sullen
• downhearted
• dark
• moaning
• lugubrious
• gloomy
• somber
• heavyhearted
• low-spirited
• groaning
• joyless
• morose
• depressing
• bleak
• lachrymose
• woeful
• cheerless
• dolorous
• dismal
• desolate
• saturnine
• miserable
• dreary
• woebegone
• comfortless
• listless
• wretched
• lethargic
• sluggish
• dull
• torpid

smiling

2 of 3

noun

as in cheering

Related Words

• laughing
• cheering
• rejoicing
• exultation

Dissimilar Words

• tears
• keen
• groan
• wail
• howl
• moan
• lament
• lamentation
• cry
• plaint
• sob
• suffering
• weeping
• mourning
• sorrowing
• grieving
• agonizing

smiling

3 of 3

verb

present participle of smile

1

as in grinning

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

the soldier smiled in pleasure when he saw the giant sign welcoming him home

Synonyms & Similar Words

• grinning
• laughing
• beaming
• sneering
• smirking
• simpering

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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

2

as in sneering

to express scornful amusement by means of facial contortions

smiled at their ridiculous antics and walked away in disgust

Synonyms & Similar Words

• laughing
• sneering
• snickering
• sniggering
• snorting
• sniffing
• jeering
• insulting
• ridiculing
• mocking
• deriding
• gibing
• hooting
• disdaining
• taunting
• despising
• teasing
• decrying
• disparaging
• belittling
• scoffing (at)
• scorning
• catcalling
• tormenting
• razzing
• riding
• heckling
• ribbing
• jiving
• bad-mouthing
• pooh-poohing
• putting down

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of smiling

Adjective

Women in black hijabs and abayas, many wearing badges depicting Zahra’s smiling face, lined the streets as men prayed over her casket, placed outside the Husseiniya, a Shiite hall. — Rania Abouzeid, New Yorker, 21 May 2026

As Thomas’ parents, Katina Smith and Bobby Thomas, unveiled their son’s smiling statue in the Broncos’ Ring of Fame Plaza last Sunday, as scores of his former teammates looked on in sadness and joy, Miller was 800 miles away in Dallas, gearing up for a game against the Cowboys. — Luca Evans, Denver Post, 24 Oct. 2025

Noun

Karen Jesch, a PhD student at Boston College’s Canine Cognition Center, points out that human smiling is a strange behavior to begin with, and not always a happy one. — Niranjana Rajalakshmi, Popular Science, 14 May 2026

There was a lot of nervous smiling. — Raechal Shewfelt, Entertainment Weekly, 31 Oct. 2025

Umanmielen responded with a GIF of a smiling, but famously blind, Stevie Wonder. — Alex Zietlow, Charlotte Observer, 25 Sep. 2025

Verb

The post also included a sweet selfie with her two younger sons, with Mateo smiling widely and Ciro making a silly face for the camera. — Charna Flam, PEOPLE, 8 July 2026

The girls beamed dancing with the smiling Johnson, who honored his co-star Catherine Laga'aia (the live-action Moana) in the dance. — Bryan Alexander, USA Today, 8 July 2026

Steinbach even showed a rare bit of emotion, smiling briefly as Knueppel, Miller and others applauded. — Roderick Boone, Charlotte Observer, 7 July 2026

All of us were laughing and smiling and sharing stories while huddled next to a little space heater. — Brian Davids, HollywoodReporter, 7 July 2026

Waving and smiling, Aveiro, accompanied by a burly gentleman, takes a seat at a table bedecked with a bouquet of roses, ready to tuck into some cuisine from her native country. — Madeleine Marr, Miami Herald, 30 June 2026

From 1941 to 1976, New Yorkers riding the subway might have seen Maureen Walsh, Ellen Hart, or Heide Hafner smiling back at them on their commute as part of the Miss Subways campaign. — Noelle Lilley, CBS News, 30 June 2026

Foti eagerly wants to reveal more of the company’s plans, but holds back, smiling. — Laura Sirikul, Forbes.com, 30 June 2026