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
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
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
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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
-
Nix grimaced and walked off the field.—
Parker Gabriel,
Denver Post,
18 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Fans filed by and stared at this white man talking to these two Black people.—
Assistant Sports Editor,
Los Angeles Times,
22 Jan. 2026
-
Braddy intently stared at Rifkin during opening arguments.—
Grethel Aguila,
Miami Herald,
20 Jan. 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
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Behar scowled at Goldberg's comment, which opened the floodgates for the remaining panelists.—
Joey Nolfi,
Entertainment Weekly,
6 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
Elk Grove officials Tuesday frowned at the news but said the city would be working with The Ridge shopping center to fill the space.—
Darrell Smith,
Sacbee.com,
28 Jan. 2026
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Opponents complained that annexing the whole of Mexico would be financially ruinous, and frowned upon having the military indefinitely deployed to Mexico, where most of the citizens would not welcome them.—
Vivian Salama,
The Atlantic,
21 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Smirked.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/smirked. Accessed 30 Jan. 2026.
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