as in smiled
to express an emotion (as amusement) by curving the lips upward
grinned at the kids' fooling around in the pool
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Recent Examples of grinned
Related Stories Spielberg grinned as the audience broke out into laughter and cheers.
—
Selome Hailu, Variety, 13 Mar. 2026
Standing in the visiting dressing room at PPG Paints Arena on Thursday morning, Sabres alternate captain Alex Tuch grinned when asked about how the group is handling the trade rumors as a contending team as opposed to one that is selling.
—Matthew Fairburn, New York Times, 6 Mar. 2026
The figure stretched on the bed grinned at her.
—Literary Hub, 26 Feb. 2026
The effervescent 35-year-old grinned from first note to last, triumphantly raising her arms above her head as the song ended.
—Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 15 Feb. 2026
Mamdani grinned puckishly recalling his mother’s interest in academic achievement.
—Rebecca Traister, Vulture, 10 Feb. 2026
The Disney World first-timer waved at Tigger, grinned for photos with Cinderella and faced down stormtroopers on a Star Wars ride.
—Hannah Sampson, Washington Post, 3 Feb. 2026
Ed, who was in his 60s, grinned.
—Nick Dothée, Los Angeles Times, 30 Jan. 2026
As red and white confetti rained down onto the field at Hard Rock Stadium Monday night, Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti — known for his stern demeanor on the field — widely grinned towards his players and coaches knowing his team had done what many previously thought was impossible.
—Greg Rosenstein, NBC news, 20 Jan. 2026
Selome Hailu, Variety, 13 Mar. 2026
Standing in the visiting dressing room at PPG Paints Arena on Thursday morning, Sabres alternate captain Alex Tuch grinned when asked about how the group is handling the trade rumors as a contending team as opposed to one that is selling.
—Matthew Fairburn, New York Times, 6 Mar. 2026
The figure stretched on the bed grinned at her.
—Literary Hub, 26 Feb. 2026
The effervescent 35-year-old grinned from first note to last, triumphantly raising her arms above her head as the song ended.
—Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 15 Feb. 2026
Mamdani grinned puckishly recalling his mother’s interest in academic achievement.
—Rebecca Traister, Vulture, 10 Feb. 2026
The Disney World first-timer waved at Tigger, grinned for photos with Cinderella and faced down stormtroopers on a Star Wars ride.
—Hannah Sampson, Washington Post, 3 Feb. 2026
Ed, who was in his 60s, grinned.
—Nick Dothée, Los Angeles Times, 30 Jan. 2026
As red and white confetti rained down onto the field at Hard Rock Stadium Monday night, Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti — known for his stern demeanor on the field — widely grinned towards his players and coaches knowing his team had done what many previously thought was impossible.
—Greg Rosenstein, NBC news, 20 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for grinned
Verb
-
Stunned fans screamed and cheered as Jordan smiled at the camera.—
Minyvonne Burke,
NBC news,
16 Mar. 2026
-
Jordan smiled and posed with his trophy in front of a cheering crowd and a dozen In-N-Out employees having the shift of their lives.—
Vanity Fair,
Vanity Fair,
16 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
When asked if the news was indeed true, Roach laughed.—
Anna Kaufman,
USA Today,
10 Mar. 2026
-
Fallon, in turn, gave Curtis a deadpan look as the audience laughed.—
Emlyn Travis,
Entertainment Weekly,
5 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Grinned.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/grinned. Accessed 18 Mar. 2026.
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