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
The Poets smirking at us in the garden, their coats blowing open like bat wings.
—
Literary Hub, 24 Sep. 2025
Cary Grant built a career on smirking suavity; Cate Blanchett has made an art form of falling apart with tragic intensity.
—Inkoo Kang, New Yorker, 22 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
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
Literary Hub, 24 Sep. 2025
Cary Grant built a career on smirking suavity; Cate Blanchett has made an art form of falling apart with tragic intensity.
—Inkoo Kang, New Yorker, 22 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
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
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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In a separate post, Tippett is seen hugging and staring into his beloved’s eyes through a window, followed by a video of the pair talking and snogging, with their intimate conversation muted by the glass partition.—
Gil Kaufman,
Billboard,
7 Oct. 2025
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Soon my mom was staring catatonically at the baby item in her hand.—
Melissa Willets,
Parents,
7 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Ray’s brother, Jem (Sean Bean), has shown up to reconnect, and for a long time these two sit around not saying very much, pouring drinks and scowling at each other, at one point getting their ya-yas out with a midnight rock ‘n’ roll dance, then scowling some more.—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
28 Sep. 2025
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His real name is Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio; his stage name, as fans later learned, was inspired by a childhood photograph that captured him, scowling, in a rabbit costume.—
Kelefa Sanneh,
New Yorker,
15 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Smirking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/smirking. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
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