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Synonyms

self-satisfied

American  
[self-sat-is-fahyd, self-] / ˈsɛlfˈsæt ɪsˌfaɪd, ˌsɛlf- /

adjective

  1. feeling or showing satisfaction with oneself.

    Synonyms:
    puffed-up, vain, smug, complacent

self-satisfied British  

adjective

  1. having or showing a complacent satisfaction with oneself, one's own actions, behaviour, etc

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of self-satisfied

First recorded in 1725–35

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.

See Examples For:

Although her Schiaparelli look is more like “Madame B” for “Boring,” especially at an event like the Met Gala, it’s at least a somewhat interesting — if self-satisfied — commentary.

From Salon May 6, 2026

Mr. Holmes shows how the unstable and morose Tennyson, born in the wild Romantic age of Byron, Coleridge and Shelley, grew into the settled and self-satisfied voice of Victorian England.

From The Wall Street Journal Feb. 20, 2026

Several of the figures rest a self-satisfied hand at the apex of their bump.

From Slate Jul. 21, 2025

My sermon — which I would deliver sloppily in the smoking section at parties, annoyingly self-satisfied and convinced that I had figured it all out — became this: If you’re cool now, you’re cool forever.

From Los Angeles Times Apr. 8, 2025

General Peckem repeated, twinkling with self-satisfied good humor.

From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller

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