smugly

[ smuhg-lee ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

adverb

in a way that is contentedly confident of one’s ability, superiority, or correctness; in a self-satisfied or complacent way:
I think I'm just as good as lots of those people who are sitting so smugly in judgment over me.

Origin of smugly¹

It happened when, having become smugly satisfied with my rendering of Mickey Mouse, I turned to Donald Duck.

Detective smugly retorts, “You were saying something about procedures?”

So says Thomas Hobbes, whose definition of all laughter illuminates those moments when we smugly parade past the shrunken giants.

I cannot drive away smugly from these gates with the simple feelings of a woman who has been paying a mere visit—I cannot!

Done nothing but succeed smugly in keeping myself in comfort outside the modern economic treadmill!

He was feeling extremely gentle toward Nina those days and rather smugly virtuous.

The cook drew himself up in a smugly humble fashion, a deprecating smirk on his face.

They smugly argue from the known to the unknown on entirely false premises.

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