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Synonyms

self-satisfied

American  
[self-sat-is-fahyd, self-] / ˈsɛlfˈsæt ɪsˌfaɪd, ˌsɛlf- /

adjective

  1. feeling or showing satisfaction with oneself.

    Synonyms:
    puffed-up, vain, smug, complacent

self-satisfied British  

adjective

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

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • self-satisfaction noun

Etymology

Origin of self-satisfied

First recorded in 1725–35

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

And Calder Gardens, for all the undoubted talent and imagination it displays, sadly turns its back on its Parkway context with a self-satisfied aloofness.

From The Wall Street Journal • Sep. 24, 2025

Several of the figures rest a self-satisfied hand at the apex of their bump.

From Slate • Jul. 21, 2025

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 • Apr. 8, 2025

He’s calm, even a little self-satisfied, as he invites someone to “Feel it all around you/Crash and fall.”

From New York Times • Apr. 19, 2024

A few months earlier, on the first day of sixth grade, Carol Horning came into class wearing a slight but unmistakably self-satisfied smile.

From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides