Showing results for "gloating"

• present participle of gloat.

gloating

American  

[gloh-ting] / ˈgloʊ tɪŋ /

noun

1. the act of looking at or speaking or thinking about something with excessive, usually smug or malicious satisfaction.

   For all our gloating about how progressive we are on issues of race and sexual orientation, we lag behind on some other human rights issues.

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adjective

1. looking at or speaking or thinking about something in this way.

   Asked about the protester's arrest, the mayor said with a gloating smile, "I wish him luck.”

Other Word Forms

• ungloating
  adjective
• gloatingly
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of gloating

First recorded in 1575–85; gloat ( def. ) + -ing ¹ ( def. ) for the noun; gloat ( def. ) + -ing ² ( def. ) for the adjective

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

gloating

And so, when Dubai and other parts of the United Arab Emirates were targeted by some 1,400 Iranian missiles and drones over the past several days, the reaction abroad was often gloating and snark.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 6, 2026

There was no gloating from John about that.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 26, 2024

Three is either a charm or a curse – depending on your point of view – and there are plenty of people gloating or kvetching today.

From Salon ● Nov. 7, 2024

Panic and gloating go viral; reality-based exposition doesn’t.

From Slate ● May 15, 2024

Disturbed as if out of some gloating dream by his small yell she turned slowly the dreadful malice of her glance upon him.

From "The Two Towers" by J. R. R. Tolkien