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
Something of a Hurley whisperer, who is there to translate what the coach wants – minus the additional adjectives – for his teammates, usually sitting and smirking while Hurley riffs on the grievance of the day.
—
Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 2 Apr. 2026
Standing above it all is Elijah Wood as the Council lawyer, who seems to be silently smirking at everything that happens, which is not an inappropriate response.
—Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 14 Mar. 2026
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 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
Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 2 Apr. 2026
Standing above it all is Elijah Wood as the Council lawyer, who seems to be silently smirking at everything that happens, which is not an inappropriate response.
—Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 14 Mar. 2026
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 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for smirking
Verb
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Mark scored 29 for the Longhorns, grimacing and clearly in pain limping on his injured leg through the closing minutes when the sixth-year senior’s team needed him most.—
Janie McCauley,
Chicago Tribune,
27 Mar. 2026
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Mark scored 29 for the Longhorns, grimacing and clearly in pain, limping on his injured leg through the closing minutes when the sixth-year senior's team needed him most.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
26 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Joan and Lynn were staring at Louise with entirely blank expressions.—
Catherine Lacey,
New Yorker,
5 Apr. 2026
-
Our first glimpse of her, before this road trip, was staring blankly, maybe suicidally, into a river.—
Jake Coyle,
Boston Herald,
3 Apr. 2026
Verb
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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
-
Hubbard posted an image of herself with a disgusted look on her face from earlier in Season 10, while Dillard shared a photo of himself frowning, also from a scene in the show.—
Payton Turkeltaub,
Variety,
31 Mar. 2026
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Subscribers and consumer advocates may be frowning on Netflix’s latest price hikes, but Wall Street is celebrating the move.—
Dade Hayes,
Deadline,
27 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Some people will probably be pouting in those debriefs.—
Jeff Gluck,
New York Times,
12 Mar. 2026
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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 8 Apr. 2026.
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