as in vanity
an often unjustified feeling of being pleased with oneself or with one's situation or achievements
the sense of smugness that can come with too many easy victories
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Recent Examples of smugness
The smugness is thicker than split pea.
—
Josh Brown,sean Russo, CNBC, 4 Dec. 2025
Where Spider masked his incompetence with bravado and abrasiveness, Claude put up a thin layer of smugness that collapsed when faced with even a tiny amount of resistance.
—Brian Grubb, Vulture, 29 Oct. 2025
Josh Brown,sean Russo, CNBC, 4 Dec. 2025
Where Spider masked his incompetence with bravado and abrasiveness, Claude put up a thin layer of smugness that collapsed when faced with even a tiny amount of resistance.
—Brian Grubb, Vulture, 29 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for smugness
Noun
-
Twenty years later, in a twist fit for Hollywood itself, the tiny studio once brushed off as a billionaire scion’s vanity project is poised to be an entertainment behemoth.—
Matt Sedensky,
Fortune,
28 Feb. 2026
-
The complaints weren’t just about vanity sizing.—
Marisa McMillan,
Outside,
27 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
The true implications of the blast marks on Russia's rocketry ego remained vague.—
Leonard David,
Space.com,
4 Mar. 2026
-
In a way, their books are about male ego.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
There's so much pride in Target and there's so much excitement to get this company back to growth.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
4 Mar. 2026
-
Burke oozes with pride when sharing stories about the historical restaurant, which sits in the heart of Mount Lookout Square.—
Kaycee Sloan,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
3 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
The Iranians approached the diplomacy with arrogance, which – with absolute hubris.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
1 Mar. 2026
-
The arrogance seen in 2010 is now also on display in how Lawson-Remer is making the case for weakening term limits as part of broader changes that would give the board’s Democratic majority (and its union allies) even more clout.—
U T Editorial Board,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
27 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
If everybody’s getting better, then there’s no complacency or anything like that.—
Mike Kaye
March 3,
Charlotte Observer,
3 Mar. 2026
-
The rituals of remembrance are meant to disturb our complacency.—
Jack Hill,
Baltimore Sun,
26 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
My disappointment in Vigil came down to the waste of a perfect setup for exhibiting the worldly redemption of art—that is, its power to redeem us from insensitivity and self-satisfaction.—
Julius Taranto,
The Atlantic,
27 Jan. 2026
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There’s a fine line between righteousness and self-satisfaction, and the second season, which premieres on HBO Max on January 8, frequently stumbles into the latter territory.—
Nicholas Quah,
Vulture,
6 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Smugness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/smugness. Accessed 9 Mar. 2026.
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