as in to grimace
to smile in an unpleasant way because you are pleased with yourself, glad about someone else's trouble, etc.
She tried not to smirk when they announced the winner.
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of smirk
Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 5 Mar. 2025
Laura inwardly smirked at the characteristic self-doubt of a woman some eight years her junior.
—Hannah Gold, Harper's Magazine, 19 Feb. 2025
Jackie Strause, HollywoodReporter, 17 Apr. 2025
Harrison Ford forged an archetype: the skeptical rogue, a smirk king, He Who Shot First.
—Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 22 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for smirk
Verb
Democratic Representative Jim Clyburn of South Carolina was at one point seen smirking with his head in his hand.
—Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 5 Mar. 2025
Laura inwardly smirked at the characteristic self-doubt of a woman some eight years her junior.
—Hannah Gold, Harper's Magazine, 19 Feb. 2025
Noun
Everyone has always wondered what that smirk was all about from day one.
—Jackie Strause, HollywoodReporter, 17 Apr. 2025
Harrison Ford forged an archetype: the skeptical rogue, a smirk king, He Who Shot First.
—Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 22 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for smirk
Recent Examples of Synonyms for smirk
Noun
-
His voice—typically pitched between a bellow and a sneer—was instantly recognizable to the couple that night.—
Air Mail,
Air Mail,
3 May 2025
-
In a movie climate where remakes tend to draw sneers of derision and claims that people have just gotten too lazy to invent anything new, Disney’s remakes of its own products are always a chief target.—
Stephanie Zacharek,
TIME,
21 Mar. 2025
Verb
-
Far too often, business leaders get caught staring at the wrong gauges—hyper-focused on vanity metrics, internal politics or the crisis of the week.—
Ryan Kunkel,
Forbes.com,
23 June 2025
-
Captured in the early morning, the video shows the woman entering her kitchen to find her partner staring at a grey cat, which is nonchalantly eating from a bowl on the floor.—
Melissa Fleur Afshar,
MSNBC Newsweek,
20 June 2025
Noun
-
League sources stifle their snickers in public while privately marveling at the owner’s ceaseless stupidity. 3.—
Jeff Howe,
The Athletic,
24 Jan. 2025
-
So he must be placed in the Apparition section, next to ghosts like John Barron, sharing a snicker with Ivana.—
Greg Marotta,
New York Daily News,
12 Jan. 2025
Verb
-
In the meantime, Claude scrutinized the room, alternately winking and scowling at the residents and care workers within eyeshot before diligently watching the door.—
Hazlitt,
Hazlitt,
18 June 2025
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There’s a noticeable pride Morot takes in touring me around his geek’s paradise: a two-level office crammed with shelves of scowling latex heads, furry creatures and a pair of giant gators overlooking it all.—
Joshua Rothkopf,
Los Angeles Times,
14 May 2025
Noun
-
Each time an audience member so much as sniggers or sneezes, money is docked from a prize pot of £250,000 ($330,000), the slightest noise costing them up to £10,000 ($13,000) each time.—
Alex Ritman,
Variety,
2 May 2025
-
The tribal leader sniggers; a trade with foreign infidels is inconceivable.—
Bing West,
Foreign Affairs,
1 Sep. 2011
Verb
-
In the United States, doing significant work a rental might be frowned upon.—
Thea Duncan Prando,
CNBC,
17 May 2025
-
Mook continued to openly frown at Gaitok’s strong moral compass, valid worries, and vulnerabilities.—
Jodi Guglielmi,
Rolling Stone,
7 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Smirk.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/smirk. Accessed 30 Jun. 2025.
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