smug
Americanadjective
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contentedly confident of one's ability, superiority, or correctness; complacent.
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trim; spruce; smooth; sleek.
adjective
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excessively self-satisfied or complacent
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archaic trim or neat
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of smug
First recorded in 1545–55; perhaps from Middle Dutch smuc “neat, pretty, nice”
Explanation
A smug person is self-satisfied. You can usually recognize someone who is pleased with himself by his smug little smile and self-righteous remarks. Smug is the opposite of modest and unsure. In cartoons, the smug character often walks around with his chest puffed out and his ego leading the way. “Too much good fortune can make you smug and unaware,” thought Rachel Field, the children’s author. What she means is that successes are appreciated much more when they don't come so often that you begin to feel entitled to them.
Vocabulary lists containing smug
The SAT: Words to Capture Tone, List 3
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The New SAT: Words to Capture Tone
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List 7
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Smug colleagues would insist that they'd never be defeated.
From BBC • Apr. 3, 2023
In 2006, South Park devoted an entire episode, called "Smug Alert," to making fun of holier-than-thou Prius owners.
From Salon • Nov. 28, 2022
Twitter user Comfortably Smug, the founder of the tournament whose identity has remained a mystery, unveiled the 16 remaining contenders of the viral competition.
From Fox News • Jan. 29, 2020
Smug Mug, the company that purchased the site from Yahoo last year, is ditching a model that gave users a terabyte of free online storage for a $50-a-year service that gives them unlimited storage.
From Slate • Feb. 5, 2019
He was a Philistine; he was Bourgeois; he was Smug; he was Conventional, and he said: "A Garbage Scow means a Garbage Scow to me!"
From Hermione's Group of Thinkers by Marquis, Don
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
