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.

---

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

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who poured a lot of time, money, coordination, pressure, and campaigning into the outcome, was understandably gloating following the result.

From Slate ● Apr. 25, 2026

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

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 9, 2026

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

Back in the 1990s, the California-as-disaster-epic narrative was tinged with some gloating — a comeuppance for a star-making destination that for decades was America’s post-war wonderland.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 6, 2024

Five minutes later, the map was spread out over the steering wheel, and Chubs was gloating in the backseat.

From "The Darkest Minds" by Alexandra Bracken