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
Ideological skirmishes over the motives and obligations of Carpenter’s music include both sincere interrogation of its feminism and smirking counteractive reprisals to that scrutiny.
—
Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 3 Sep. 2025
Colson replied with a photo of herself smirking while wearing a green jacket.
—Ryan Morik, FOXNews.com, 5 Aug. 2025
Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 3 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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Miller could be seen bending over and grimacing after the fateful pitch, in an obvious degree of pain.—
Jon Vankin,
MSNBC Newsweek,
2 Sep. 2025
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In the new logo, which the university said was designed in-house, the mascot's grimacing expression is the same, but his fists are down.—
Andrew Greif,
NBC news,
21 Aug. 2025
Verb
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The Irish are 0-1 and staring at an idle weekend with plenty to work on after a 27-24 loss in Miami on the Sunday night of Week 1.—
Pete Sampson,
New York Times,
2 Sep. 2025
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But after weeks of staring at bare ground, a few green shoots pushed through the dark silt.—
Lila Hempel-Edgers,
Charlotte Observer,
2 Sep. 2025
Verb
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His Teddy is a skeevy, scowling hippie incel who seems to have burnt everything out of himself but the desire for vengeance.—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
28 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Smirking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/smirking. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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