as in to grimace
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.
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of smirk
Annie Aguiar, New York Times, 26 Feb. 2025
Delle looked up at Adria, shifted her weight, and smirked—no, smiled.
—Daniel D'addario, Variety, 17 Feb. 2025
Brian Davids, The Hollywood Reporter, 7 Feb. 2025
The extraordinary Jakup, however, doesn’t go for simplistic naiveté in his quietly soulful performance, but rather communicates Ahmet’s interiority in a shy smirk or his beaming eyes.
—Carlos Aguilar, Variety, 25 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for smirk
Verb
Georgina replies, sporting a bratty pout before smirking into the phone.
—Annie Aguiar, New York Times, 26 Feb. 2025
Delle looked up at Adria, shifted her weight, and smirked—no, smiled.
—Daniel D'addario, Variety, 17 Feb. 2025
Noun
But Jordana didn’t seem to think much of it other than a smirk.
—Brian Davids, The Hollywood Reporter, 7 Feb. 2025
The extraordinary Jakup, however, doesn’t go for simplistic naiveté in his quietly soulful performance, but rather communicates Ahmet’s interiority in a shy smirk or his beaming eyes.
—Carlos Aguilar, Variety, 25 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for smirk
Recent Examples of Synonyms for smirk
Noun
-
Despite the show's ruminations revolving around Dorian's ego, there is no vanity in this performance where Snook sweats, sneers, and dashes across stage.—
Shania Russell,
EW.com,
28 Mar. 2025
-
One is Giovanni Battista Moroni’s Portrait of a Woman (ca. 1575), in which a leery-eyed woman stares down at her viewer, pressing her lips into the faintest of sneers.—
Alex Greenberger,
ARTnews.com,
26 Mar. 2025
Verb
-
Perhaps the Staring Girl is just that, a staring girl.—
Nick Romano,
EW.com,
7 Apr. 2025
-
But Oskar continued to be mesmerized, staring at the rotating blades.—
Don Norcross,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
7 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
League sources stifle their snickers in public while privately marveling at the owner’s ceaseless stupidity. 3.—
Jeff Howe,
The Athletic,
24 Jan. 2025
-
So he must be placed in the Apparition section, next to ghosts like John Barron, sharing a snicker with Ivana.—
Greg Marotta,
New York Daily News,
12 Jan. 2025
Verb
-
Those who scowled at such modest steps in programming are presumably hailing the Trump regime’s ugly crusade against D.E.I., which has broadened into an assault on decades of civil-rights progress.—
Alex Ross,
The New Yorker,
24 Feb. 2025
-
For Halloween, Rick showed up wearing the same shirt Blake always wore, scowled and walked around with a Monster drink all night long.—
Michael Barnes,
Austin American-Statesman,
19 July 2024
Noun
-
The tribal leader sniggers; a trade with foreign infidels is inconceivable.—
Bing West,
Foreign Affairs,
1 Sep. 2011
-
This offbeat comedy, which originally ran from 2007-10, thrives on less explicit social tensions: sniggers behind the back and raised eyebrows at the dinner table.—
The Economist,
The Economist,
26 Dec. 2019
Verb
-
When Verbeek mentioned the Knot, Guadarrama shook his head and frowned.—
Adam Iscoe,
New Yorker,
31 Mar. 2025
-
Even between husband and wife, the use of any contraceptives was frowned upon — and still is, officially.—
Laura Gómez,
Scientific American,
26 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Smirk.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/smirk. Accessed 16 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share