as in cute
making light of something usually regarded as serious or sacred
your smarty-pants comments aren't helping matters any
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in smarty
a person who likes to show off in a clever but annoying way
I don't need to hear from some smarty-pants second-guesser that the theme for the party is all wrong
Synonyms & Similar Words
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 smarty-pants
Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 18 Mar. 2026
Eventually, the game builds to its own metafictional deconstruction, albeit in a way that lands as an emotional gut punch rather than smarty-pants twist.
—Lewis Gordon, Vulture, 3 Dec. 2025
Plural noun
Rolling off the bed in a silicon sleep cocoon, Grace gradually evolves from a wriggling larval stage into a fully upright, walking and talking smarty-pants.
—Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 18 Mar. 2026
Eventually, the game builds to its own metafictional deconstruction, albeit in a way that lands as an emotional gut punch rather than smarty-pants twist.
—Lewis Gordon, Vulture, 3 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for smarty-pants
Adjective
-
Best Amazon Shoes and Accessories Deals Round out your spring wardrobe with supportive shoes, cute bags, and fun accessories from brands like Brooks, Kate Spade, and Kendra Scott.—
Isabel Garcia,
PEOPLE,
4 Apr. 2026
-
In the middle of the garden is a seating area with simple but cute second-hand furniture and a three-tier stone fountain from Backyard X-Scapes on Sorrento Valley Road.—
Caron Golden,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
4 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Going beyond the basics of a typical smart scale, the MorphoScan breaks down segmental muscle and fat for each arm, each leg, and your torso, similar to a dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) scan, which is essentially a medical imagery test to gauge these same attributes.—
Andrew Gebhart,
PC Magazine,
5 Apr. 2026
-
Police in Ann Arbor want all fans coming to town to celebrate this weekend to make smart decisions.—
Terell Bailey,
CBS News,
4 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Smarty-pants.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/smarty-pants. Accessed 7 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
