1
as in arrogant
having too high an opinion of oneself
a winner who was so smug that he lost the goodwill of the crowd
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in tidy
being clean and in good order
the suburb's smug lawns and tree-lined streets bespeak a comfortable affluence
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of smug
And no scripture condones the smug enjoyment of it.
—
Hannah Sacks, People.com, 30 July 2025
While half the town is eager to see the virus controlled, the other half is convinced that their smug neighbors are using a hoax of a pandemic to control and mistreat them.
—Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 18 July 2025
There really was a secret cabal of the rich and powerful who committed horrific crimes, smug in the knowledge that their money and power would protect them.
—Pat Beall, The Orlando Sentinel, 13 July 2025
And aren’t the organized terrorist groups smug and self-satisfied that their civilian proxies, many here in the United States, are doing their dirty work for them?
—Diane Gensler, Baltimore Sun, 26 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for smug
Hannah Sacks, People.com, 30 July 2025
While half the town is eager to see the virus controlled, the other half is convinced that their smug neighbors are using a hoax of a pandemic to control and mistreat them.
—Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 18 July 2025
There really was a secret cabal of the rich and powerful who committed horrific crimes, smug in the knowledge that their money and power would protect them.
—Pat Beall, The Orlando Sentinel, 13 July 2025
And aren’t the organized terrorist groups smug and self-satisfied that their civilian proxies, many here in the United States, are doing their dirty work for them?
—Diane Gensler, Baltimore Sun, 26 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for smug
Recent Examples of Synonyms for smug
Adjective
-
Zane played the arrogant Cal Hockley, who was engaged to Jack's love interest, Rose (played by Kate Winslet).—
Virginia Chamlee,
People.com,
9 Sep. 2025
-
Hardly seems like enough to cow these arrogant companies into behaving, especially when their business model is so intrinsically tied to hoovering up other people’s information and creative work.—
James Folta,
Literary Hub,
8 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Southerners know the importance of keeping a clean and tidy house.—
Melissa Locker,
Southern Living,
11 Sep. 2025
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Financial details remain undisclosed, but international presales moved briskly at film markets over the past year, suggesting Yeon and his collaborators have likely already made a tidy return.—
Patrick Brzeski,
HollywoodReporter,
9 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
As Cantillo dissected his outing, Hedges peered over at him, beaming like a proud father.—
Zack Meisel,
New York Times,
10 Sep. 2025
-
But the proud Eugene will not hear of it.—
Frank Scheck,
HollywoodReporter,
10 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Some of Chelsea’s other successful corner routines haven’t been quite as neat, with a series of half-clearances and scuffed contacts forcing scraps in the six-yard box before other teammates could apply the finishing touch.—
Thom Harris,
New York Times,
11 Sep. 2025
-
Charles Marquis Warren’s direction pinpoints the action with neat perfection.—
Hal Landers,
HollywoodReporter,
10 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
The lack of any real surprises or subversions along the way can be a drag, making the Prime Video miniseries feel a bit padded even at a relatively trim six hour-long episodes.—
Angie Han,
HollywoodReporter,
9 Sep. 2025
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The standard trim, layer, and fine-tune features are all here, plus elements like automatic captions, text, 4K HDR, and more.—
James Peckham,
PC Magazine,
4 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Kirk promised that her husband will not have died in vain and said that instead his message would only become stronger.—
Michael Loria,
USA Today,
13 Sep. 2025
-
Thomas doesn't want her daughter to die in vain, either.—
Nushrat Rahman,
Freep.com,
9 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
The kooky characters surrounding Judge Stone included the conceited prosecutor Dan Fielding (John Larroquette), the imposing bailiff Bull Shannon (Richard Moll), and the idealistic public defender Christine Sullivan (Markie Post), each of whom had various quirks of their own.—
Dan Heching,
EW.com,
28 Aug. 2025
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This is the worst kind of football team: a conceited but objectively mediocre squad.—
Dieter Kurtenbach,
The Mercury News,
17 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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Their music provided a suitably self-important soundtrack as Great Recession-era artisanal hipsterdom faded into the careerist hopefulness of the latter Obama years, when Everlane minimalism supplanted lumberjack plaid.—
Kyle Chayka,
New Yorker,
13 Aug. 2025
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The effort was pointless and self-important and never once determined the Legislature could promote happiness by lowering the cost of living and staying out of people’s lives.—
Matt Fleming,
Oc Register,
11 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Smug.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/smug. Accessed 17 Sep. 2025.
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