as in grimacing
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.
Related 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 smirking
Ibeh took a somewhat confused, smirking glance at Miller as the two retreated to their corners.
—
Matt Moret, New York Times, 1 Feb. 2026
Linda Liddle is an office workhorse who has spent her career trying to get ahead by working late and grinding out quarterly reports through lunch at her desk, only to see the credit stolen by whatever smirking golf buddy has leapfrogged her up the corporate ladder.
—Alison Willmore, Vulture, 30 Jan. 2026
The smirking beagle has haunted me all holiday season.
—Scottie Andrew, CNN Money, 13 Dec. 2025
The Poets smirking at us in the garden, their coats blowing open like bat wings.
—Literary Hub, 24 Sep. 2025
Cary Grant built a career on smirking suavity; Cate Blanchett has made an art form of falling apart with tragic intensity.
—Inkoo Kang, New Yorker, 22 Sep. 2025
And Jules raises his hand, kind of smirking already.
—Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 20 Sep. 2025
At the other end of the bar, Don was smirking as though looking forward to the lecture Odette was going to give Charlie.
—Maureen Lee Lenker, Entertainment Weekly, 19 Sep. 2025
Colson replied with a photo of herself smirking while wearing a green jacket.
—Ryan Morik, FOXNews.com, 5 Aug. 2025
Matt Moret, New York Times, 1 Feb. 2026
Linda Liddle is an office workhorse who has spent her career trying to get ahead by working late and grinding out quarterly reports through lunch at her desk, only to see the credit stolen by whatever smirking golf buddy has leapfrogged her up the corporate ladder.
—Alison Willmore, Vulture, 30 Jan. 2026
The smirking beagle has haunted me all holiday season.
—Scottie Andrew, CNN Money, 13 Dec. 2025
The Poets smirking at us in the garden, their coats blowing open like bat wings.
—Literary Hub, 24 Sep. 2025
Cary Grant built a career on smirking suavity; Cate Blanchett has made an art form of falling apart with tragic intensity.
—Inkoo Kang, New Yorker, 22 Sep. 2025
And Jules raises his hand, kind of smirking already.
—Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 20 Sep. 2025
At the other end of the bar, Don was smirking as though looking forward to the lecture Odette was going to give Charlie.
—Maureen Lee Lenker, Entertainment Weekly, 19 Sep. 2025
Colson replied with a photo of herself smirking while wearing a green jacket.
—Ryan Morik, FOXNews.com, 5 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for smirking
Verb
-
Jones’s Dragoool suggests a fusion of Oldman, Karloff’s Mummy and the Cryptkeeper, with shades of Klaus Kinski, Willem Dafoe, Heath Ledger and a grimacing carp.—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
7 Feb. 2026
-
She could be seen grimacing after making a small error during her performance, landing awkwardly off a spinning double axel.—
Brian Mann,
NPR,
7 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Jordan Stolz, sitting opposite of the finish line staring at a large video board, looked at his coach and nodded.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
14 Feb. 2026
-
Most of the crowd is talking quietly among themselves, oblivious to Trevor Yeakley’s gaze, except for two men staring daggers right back at him.—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
13 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Then there was that image circulating in the bowels of the internet that showed a man who looked exactly like JD scowling at an unidentifiable brunette woman in a restaurant.—
Elise Taylor,
Vanity Fair,
13 Feb. 2026
-
Grejo sank scowling back into his chair as though stung by Adi’s answer.—
Jonathan Miles,
Harpers Magazine,
27 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
The men stood frowning at each other and then back at Adi until the one without the gun broke into croaks of laughter.—
Jonathan Miles,
Harpers Magazine,
27 Jan. 2026
-
Smiling can actually lift your mood, while frowning can lower it.—
Valerie Monroe,
Allure,
15 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Wasn’t blaming the losses on the players, wasn’t pouting about it.—
Pete Sampson,
New York Times,
26 Jan. 2026
-
My introduction to Peters came late last year, when Instagram’s algorithm served me a video of him wearing a baseball cap, primping and pouting for the camera.—
Thomas Chatterton Williams,
The Atlantic,
19 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Smirking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/smirking. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
