self-satisfied

[self-sat-is-fahyd, self-]

adjective

1. feeling or showing satisfaction with oneself.

   Synonyms: puffed-up, vain, smug, complacent

self-satisfied

adjective

1. having or showing a complacent satisfaction with oneself, one's own actions, behaviour, etc

Other Word Forms

• self-satisfaction noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of self-satisfied¹

First recorded in 1725–35

Example Sentences

He’s self-satisfied and loves to have people fawn over him, but his star is still nascent enough for Oliver to retain some naivete.

From Salon

Some scenes are so natural as to seem improvised; others employ heavy tactics — an assaultive sound design, flash cuts — to evoke the pressure Amanda is under, from both the self-satisfied authorities and a hectoring press.

From Los Angeles Times

Look at that self-satisfied smile on his face.

From Los Angeles Times

My sermon — which I would deliver sloppily in the smoking section at parties, annoyingly self-satisfied and convinced that I had figured it all out — became this: If you’re cool now, you’re cool forever.

From Los Angeles Times

His cameos as Blazes Boylan, jitterbugging across the stage with the self-satisfied air of a country rake, were not just enlivening but renewing, capturing the character in a new idiom.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• arrogant 
• smug