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
Hannah Dailey, Billboard, 3 Apr. 2025
Deep inside the tunnel, awaiting a sprint onto court, Mark Williams smirks while making an inside joke to a staffer before ribbing an assistant coach for stepping over a barrier without tripping.
—Roderick Boone, Charlotte Observer, 13 Mar. 2025
Jackie Strause, The Hollywood Reporter, 19 Mar. 2025
By that point, even Dr. King, whose huge portrait centers the set, appears to smirk in his shrine.
—Jesse Green, New York Times, 18 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for smirk
Verb
In the picture, a slightly wary — but still smirking — Ronson lies back in a hospital gown while giving the camera a thumbs-up.
—Hannah Dailey, Billboard, 3 Apr. 2025
Deep inside the tunnel, awaiting a sprint onto court, Mark Williams smirks while making an inside joke to a staffer before ribbing an assistant coach for stepping over a barrier without tripping.
—Roderick Boone, Charlotte Observer, 13 Mar. 2025
Noun
The fifth season began with the smirk seen ’round the globe, pitting June Osborne (Moss) against Serena Joy Waterford (Yvonne Strahovski).
—Jackie Strause, The Hollywood Reporter, 19 Mar. 2025
By that point, even Dr. King, whose huge portrait centers the set, appears to smirk in his shrine.
—Jesse Green, New York Times, 18 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for smirk
Recent Examples of Synonyms for smirk
Noun
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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
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But the moralistic sneer didn’t take long to enter the postgame analysis.—
Zak Garner-Purkis,
Forbes,
23 Mar. 2025
Verb
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For the next two months (at the very least), Skinner’s life will be that of honest maths and likely more abysses to stare into.—
Megan Feringa,
New York Times,
19 May 2025
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Among other things, Biden appeared to repeatedly lose his train of thought, made halting statements and stared blankly into the audience.—
Sonam Sheth,
MSNBC Newsweek,
19 May 2025
Noun
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League sources stifle their snickers in public while privately marveling at the owner’s ceaseless stupidity. 3.—
Jeff Howe,
The Athletic,
24 Jan. 2025
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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
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Today, there’s no reason for the Padres to be scowling.—
Tom Krasovic,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
13 Apr. 2025
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The image, which shows Trump scowling to the camera for his booking shot at the Fulton County Jail in Atlanta, has become a symbol.—
Alana Wise,
NPR,
20 Feb. 2025
Noun
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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
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The tribal leader sniggers; a trade with foreign infidels is inconceivable.—
Bing West,
Foreign Affairs,
1 Sep. 2011
Verb
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His punitive overreaction to a student caught shoplifting in a college cafeteria is frowned upon, particularly because Ed is no longer the campus security chief.—
Dennis Harvey,
Variety,
25 Apr. 2025
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Traditionally, these two types of travel have been kept entirely separate, and it has been frowned upon to mix one with the other.—
Egor Karpovich,
Forbes.com,
15 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Smirk.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/smirk. Accessed 24 May. 2025.
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