as in grimacing
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 smirking
Some American viewers were pulled into it by a boring—and slightly embarrassing—poster of Harrison Ford, smirking in a suit, while a loyal Melanie Griffith clings to his shoulder and Sigourney Weaver, as befits her role of nemesis, gives a wicked smile.
—
Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 16 Feb. 2026
Ibeh took a somewhat confused, smirking glance at Miller as the two retreated to their corners.
—Matt Moret, New York Times, 1 Feb. 2026
Linda Liddle is an office workhorse who has spent her career trying to get ahead by working late and grinding out quarterly reports through lunch at her desk, only to see the credit stolen by whatever smirking golf buddy has leapfrogged her up the corporate ladder.
—Alison Willmore, Vulture, 30 Jan. 2026
The smirking beagle has haunted me all holiday season.
—Scottie Andrew, CNN Money, 13 Dec. 2025
The Poets smirking at us in the garden, their coats blowing open like bat wings.
—Literary Hub, 24 Sep. 2025
And Jules raises his hand, kind of smirking already.
—Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 20 Sep. 2025
At the other end of the bar, Don was smirking as though looking forward to the lecture Odette was going to give Charlie.
—Maureen Lee Lenker, Entertainment Weekly, 19 Sep. 2025
Colson replied with a photo of herself smirking while wearing a green jacket.
—Ryan Morik, FOXNews.com, 5 Aug. 2025
Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 16 Feb. 2026
Ibeh took a somewhat confused, smirking glance at Miller as the two retreated to their corners.
—Matt Moret, New York Times, 1 Feb. 2026
Linda Liddle is an office workhorse who has spent her career trying to get ahead by working late and grinding out quarterly reports through lunch at her desk, only to see the credit stolen by whatever smirking golf buddy has leapfrogged her up the corporate ladder.
—Alison Willmore, Vulture, 30 Jan. 2026
The smirking beagle has haunted me all holiday season.
—Scottie Andrew, CNN Money, 13 Dec. 2025
The Poets smirking at us in the garden, their coats blowing open like bat wings.
—Literary Hub, 24 Sep. 2025
And Jules raises his hand, kind of smirking already.
—Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 20 Sep. 2025
At the other end of the bar, Don was smirking as though looking forward to the lecture Odette was going to give Charlie.
—Maureen Lee Lenker, Entertainment Weekly, 19 Sep. 2025
Colson replied with a photo of herself smirking while wearing a green jacket.
—Ryan Morik, FOXNews.com, 5 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for smirking
Verb
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Ref Bankes initially ignored the wide-eyed protests of several Chelsea players to flash only his yellow card as Garnacho writhed, grimacing on the floor and clutching his left leg.—
Richard Sutcliffe,
New York Times,
7 Mar. 2026
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Fully aware of how costly the mistake was, Glenn couldn’t hide her disappointment immediately after hitting her final pose, grimacing and trying to hold back her emotions.—
Alice Park,
Time,
18 Feb. 2026
Verb
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But Jen remains utterly unmoved, staring impassively as Whitney, who seems truly blindsided, starts to lose her mind a little bit.—
Kathleen Walsh,
Vulture,
14 Mar. 2026
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Beyond the relatable thought of two of the best golfers in the world staring at their closets, wondering what to put on before a tee time, there’s a lot of earnings potential coming out of Fleetwood’s and Thomas’s situations.—
Gabby Herzig,
New York Times,
13 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
He was picked up first on meth charges on May 14, 1986, according to news reports and a San Francisco police booking photo, which shows him in a blue hoodie scowling into the camera.—
Senior Editor,
Los Angeles Times,
23 Feb. 2026
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Then there was that image circulating in the bowels of the internet that showed a man who looked exactly like JD scowling at an unidentifiable brunette woman in a restaurant.—
Elise Taylor,
Vanity Fair,
13 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The men stood frowning at each other and then back at Adi until the one without the gun broke into croaks of laughter.—
Jonathan Miles,
Harpers Magazine,
27 Jan. 2026
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Smiling can actually lift your mood, while frowning can lower it.—
Valerie Monroe,
Allure,
15 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Wasn’t blaming the losses on the players, wasn’t pouting about it.—
Pete Sampson,
New York Times,
26 Jan. 2026
-
My introduction to Peters came late last year, when Instagram’s algorithm served me a video of him wearing a baseball cap, primping and pouting for the camera.—
Thomas Chatterton Williams,
The Atlantic,
19 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Smirking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/smirking. Accessed 17 Mar. 2026.
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