as in grimaced
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 smirked
During the court hearing at the Ronald Reagan Federal Building and Courthouse in Santa Ana, Wedding, who wore a beige jail uniform and black Crocs, scanned the gallery and occasionally smirked.
—
Brittny Mejia, Los Angeles Times, 26 Jan. 2026
The Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo smirked while preparing to box out, and Washington made one but missed his final two free throws.
—Brady Brickner-Wood, New Yorker, 15 Nov. 2025
Desler smirked and gave him a small nod, which Goth returned.
—Jeff Spry, Space.com, 10 Nov. 2025
While his competitors smirked at the notion of a jukebox mobile, Jobs drove Apple to create the iPhone.
—Big Think, 3 Nov. 2025
Sneed repeated, and then smirked.
—Chantz Martin, FOXNews.com, 26 Sep. 2025
Stabler smirked before opening the door for her and wishing her a good night.
—Alex Ross, PEOPLE, 26 Sep. 2025
Chiles, waiting to speak in the back of the room, shook his head briefly and smirked.
—Noah White, Miami Herald, 12 Sep. 2025
When told about his numbers, Coleman kind of smirked at the total, expecting a larger number.
—Chris Hays, The Orlando Sentinel, 16 Aug. 2025
Brittny Mejia, Los Angeles Times, 26 Jan. 2026
The Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo smirked while preparing to box out, and Washington made one but missed his final two free throws.
—Brady Brickner-Wood, New Yorker, 15 Nov. 2025
Desler smirked and gave him a small nod, which Goth returned.
—Jeff Spry, Space.com, 10 Nov. 2025
While his competitors smirked at the notion of a jukebox mobile, Jobs drove Apple to create the iPhone.
—Big Think, 3 Nov. 2025
Sneed repeated, and then smirked.
—Chantz Martin, FOXNews.com, 26 Sep. 2025
Stabler smirked before opening the door for her and wishing her a good night.
—Alex Ross, PEOPLE, 26 Sep. 2025
Chiles, waiting to speak in the back of the room, shook his head briefly and smirked.
—Noah White, Miami Herald, 12 Sep. 2025
When told about his numbers, Coleman kind of smirked at the total, expecting a larger number.
—Chris Hays, The Orlando Sentinel, 16 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for smirked
Verb
-
Castle grimaced in pain for about a minute after the Rockets' Josh Okogie inadvertently banged into the 2024 Rookie of the Year's already sore left thumb midway through the third quarter of the 111-106 loss at Houston.—
Tom Orsborn,
San Antonio Express-News,
21 Jan. 2026
-
The knee buckled upon his landing and Butler screamed, grimaced and grabbed at his knee while down for a couple of minutes.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
20 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The two men, in their respective corners, stared each other down.—
Ryan Gaydos,
FOXNews.com,
6 Feb. 2026
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Both stared in my direction, looking surprised at the chance for free food out here.—
David Zeug,
Outdoor Life,
4 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Another line of attack likens the show to when bachelorette parties invade gay bars — a practice frequently scowled upon by gay patrons.—
Seth Abramovitch,
HollywoodReporter,
22 Dec. 2025
-
Behar scowled at Goldberg's comment, which opened the floodgates for the remaining panelists.—
Joey Nolfi,
Entertainment Weekly,
6 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Historically, archaeologists have wondered about this tradition, often frowned upon by Western audiences.—
Maria Mocerino,
Interesting Engineering,
14 Feb. 2026
-
The group is frowned upon by the Orthodox community, and was not mentioned in the biographical information put out in the mayor’s announcement.—
Josephine Stratman,
New York Daily News,
4 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Smirked.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/smirked. Accessed 19 Feb. 2026.
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