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
Dennis Perkins, EW.com, 16 Feb. 2025
Ricci first shared a photo from the school trip, where she could be seen sitting in the back of the school bus and smirking at the camera in big sunglasses.
—Hannah Sacks, People.com, 5 Feb. 2025
Marya E. Gates, IndieWire, 13 Jan. 2025
Musk remained unimpressed, dismissing Rubio with a smirk and a condescending jab.
—William Lambers, Newsweek, 7 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for smirk
Verb
The bit showed what the fiercely energetic and charismatic Murray could do, and, almost literally from that moment on, SNL viewers latched onto Murray's signature mix of smirking silliness and performing courage.
—Dennis Perkins, EW.com, 16 Feb. 2025
Ricci first shared a photo from the school trip, where she could be seen sitting in the back of the school bus and smirking at the camera in big sunglasses.
—Hannah Sacks, People.com, 5 Feb. 2025
Noun
With your silly smirks your mothers would be ashamed of?
—Marya E. Gates, IndieWire, 13 Jan. 2025
Musk remained unimpressed, dismissing Rubio with a smirk and a condescending jab.
—William Lambers, Newsweek, 7 Mar. 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
-
Tickets to the Nampa show become available to the general public staring at 10 a.m. Friday for $39.50 to $79.50 through fordidahocenter.com.—
Michael Deeds,
Idaho Statesman,
31 Mar. 2025
-
Rather than stare into your closet (or suitcase) to piece together an elevated outfit, the work is done for you.—
Genevieve Cepeda,
Travel + Leisure,
31 Mar. 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
-
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
-
Does slapping Pattinson’s scowling face on the phenomenon lead us to see it any differently?—
Peter Debruge,
Variety,
15 Feb. 2025
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
-
No matter how much potential a wellness offering has, if middle managers, for instance, frown upon their employees attending them, the initiatives will have limited success.—
Ellen Choi,
Forbes,
20 Mar. 2025
-
Doctors frown at something mysterious and disturbing.—
Samuel Ashworth,
The Atlantic,
20 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Smirk.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/smirk. Accessed 4 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share