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.
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Recent Examples of smirk
Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 11 May 2026
Corey observed the Amazon representatives smirked when residents spoke.
—Deborah Laverty, Chicago Tribune, 9 May 2026
Tony Maglio, HollywoodReporter, 29 Apr. 2026
In those heady decades of postmodern language-play and seductive irresolution, claims for literature as a force for truth and justice would likely be dismissed, with a smirk, as humanist pieties.
—Charlie Tyson, The Atlantic, 27 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for smirk
Verb
One smirked while the others stared me down.
—Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 11 May 2026
Corey observed the Amazon representatives smirked when residents spoke.
—Deborah Laverty, Chicago Tribune, 9 May 2026
Noun
For her part, the first lady nearly managed a smirk.
—Tony Maglio, HollywoodReporter, 29 Apr. 2026
In those heady decades of postmodern language-play and seductive irresolution, claims for literature as a force for truth and justice would likely be dismissed, with a smirk, as humanist pieties.
—Charlie Tyson, The Atlantic, 27 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for smirk
Recent Examples of Synonyms for smirk
Verb
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In the first quarter, Brunson exited with an apparent leg injury, frequently grimacing and favoring his right knee.—
Alejandro Avila,
FOXNews.com,
4 June 2026
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But the Hollywood adapters couldn’t be blamed for everything that seemed inherently clunky or, by now, dated about the musical’s book, parts of which were bound to leave a contemporary audience grimacing a little between all the grins the score provokes.—
Chris Willman,
Variety,
27 May 2026
Noun
-
With his rakish sneer and ruthlessly tight jodhpurs, Rupert has been thoroughly neutered with irony, transformed into an object for women to pick at.—
Sophie Gilbert,
The Atlantic,
10 June 2026
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Of course, the prospect of one of the greatest women’s footballers in history skittering around Bromley on a Saturday lunchtime in front of a smattering of fans inevitably inspires sneers.—
Megan Feringa,
New York Times,
27 May 2026
Verb
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Regrets are common enough after lives are lost — when the cost of conflict is staring you right in the face, dead-eyed and countless — and yet this specific contrition persists long before the ships crash, the arrows fly, and the dragons roar.—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
15 June 2026
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Most passengers spend a week living inside the ship, not staring at it from shore.—
David Nikel,
Forbes.com,
14 June 2026
Noun
-
The grown-ups in the audience snicker.—
Amy Nicholson,
Los Angeles Times,
3 June 2026
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There were snickers from some of the other students, including a tall and lank-haired kid whose name Adele didn’t know.—
Jonathan Franzen,
New Yorker,
1 June 2026
Verb
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As a 7-year-old, I’d entertain my father’s friends, at their weekly pickup game at a Bronx barn-house gymnasium, by imitating his game face—bottom lip jutting, eyes scowling.—
Sean Gregory,
Time,
14 June 2026
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Modern tiki tends to take a lighter touch, using more abstract graphics, less imagery of women and scowling gods.—
Michael Goldstein,
Forbes.com,
17 May 2026
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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This offbeat comedy, which originally ran from 2007-10, thrives on less explicit social tensions: sniggers behind the back and raised eyebrows at the dinner table.—
The Economist,
The Economist,
26 Dec. 2019
Verb
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This focuses readers on the all-black uniforms of the veiled pupils, who—in a long frame at the center of the page—sit between the looming, frowning teacher on the right and Marji on the left, who stands up to explain that her uncle was executed by the Islamic regime.—
Hillary Chute,
The Atlantic,
9 June 2026
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In a pre-AI world, companies would’ve frowned upon allowing clients to bypass the online front door to their services.—
Hugh Son,
CNBC,
3 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Smirk.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/smirk. Accessed 19 Jun. 2026.
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