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

• gloatingly adverb
• ungloating adjective

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

I feel overwhelmingly grateful to her for being sad about their breakup instead of gloating.

From Literature

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

I won’t join in the gloating of some critics at the hundreds who have lost their jobs.

From The Wall Street Journal

Bringing it home is Sudeikis’ manner as he shares Ted’s folksy anecdote: it contains not a whit of vanity or gloating at his adversary’s downfall.

From Salon

The kind of gloating you do when you win and you’re glad, but you’re trying not to be too much of a jerk about it.

From Literature