smirk

American  

[smurk] / smɜrk /

verb (used without object)

1. to smile in an affected, smug, or offensively familiar way.

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noun

1. the facial expression of a person who smirks.

smirk British  

/ smɜːk /

noun

1. a smile expressing scorn, smugness, etc, rather than pleasure

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verb

1. (intr) to give such a smile

2. (tr) to express with such a smile

Usage

What does smirk mean? A smirk is a kind of smile, but it’s not a friendly smile—it’s often a sarcastic or arrogant one or one that’s intended to provoke or irritate the person who sees it.Smirk is also a verb that means to smile in such a way. People often smirk to show contempt for someone or something—such as by smirking at a person who’s angry at them.Sometimes, though, the word simply refers to a kind of slight smile or a smile that looks like a smirk usually does—a baby might smirk, for example, obviously without meaning anything by it.Example: Wipe that smirk off your face and take this seriously!

Other Word Forms

• smirker noun
• smirking adjective
• smirkingly adverb
• unsmirking adjective
• unsmirkingly adverb

Etymology

Origin of smirk

First recorded before 900; Middle English smirken (verb), Old English sme(a)rcian

Example Sentences

More than one friend, he said with a smirk, had asked him how to do so: They “say, ‘Roger, I need your help.

From Salon • Jan. 23, 2026

Cignetti, smiling through that permanent I told ya so smirk, brushed off Indiana’s new status as the No. 1 heavy.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 7, 2025

The musical indulges her not with a smirk but with a knowing smile.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 9, 2025

The smirk on her lips told me that our conversation would be memorable.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 3, 2025

“I didn’t,” he said, and he turned to look at me for the first time, an amused smirk on his face.

From "Glitch" by Laura Martin

Related Words

• grin
• sneer