simper
Americanverb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
noun
verb
-
(intr) to smile coyly, affectedly, or in a silly self-conscious way
-
(tr) to utter (something) in a simpering manner
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
simpersimple
-
simperssimple
-
have simperedperfect
-
has simperedperfect
-
am simperingprogressive
-
are simperingprogressive
-
is simperingprogressive
-
have been simperingperfect progressive
-
has been simperingperfect progressive
Past
-
simperedsimple
-
had simperedperfect
-
was simperingprogressive
-
were simperingprogressive
-
had been simperingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of simper
First recorded in 1560–70; related to the Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, and Swiss dialect adjective semper “affected, coy,” German zimpfer “dainty, affected,” and to Middle Dutch zimperlijc “affected, coy”; further etymology unknown
Explanation
To simper means to smile in an artificial, coy or self-conscious way. If you hope to please someone by simpering, you may wind up annoying him or her. The origin of the word simper is not clear, but it is probably Germanic as there are similar words in Danish as well as Middle Dutch. What is clear is that a simper is not attractive to those observing it. Watching your colleague simper and giggle as the boss tells a not-very-funny joke, you can be sure that she is angling for that promotion.
Vocabulary lists containing simper
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
The Lingo of Body Language
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
See Examples For:
“I just could not simper, flutter my eyelids or gaze adoringly into the leading man’s eyes … my performance was as inadequate as I feared it would be.”
From The Guardian ● Oct. 14, 2016
He tweeted: "*blush* *giggle* *simper* - thank you very much, nice Golden Rose people."
From BBC ● Nov. 19, 2015
Soon she and Vinny have established a playful rapport that causes Edgar to whimper and simper in jealousy.
From New York Times ● Oct. 28, 2011
Even party ballet Elite Syncopations, MacMillan's 1974 setting of Scott Joplin rags, has an acidic aftertaste: the girls simper and the men strut with an unnerving edge of desperation.
From The Guardian ● Mar. 24, 2010
He had small, watery eyes, a pointed nose, and wore an unpleasant simper.
From "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" by J.K. Rowling
“I love him for the man that he almost is,” simpers Dorothy, the kindly bookkeeper and single mother who improbably snags Jerry Maguire’s semifreddo heart after he’s let go from his high-powered sports agency.
From The Guardian ● Dec. 13, 2016
A British boy band, the Wanted, simpers through “Have Some Fun,” while Usher sounds downright miserable that “The Party Ain’t Over.”
From New York Times ● Nov. 19, 2012
"Hoyt was kind of shy about it, I think because of my fangs," she simpers.
From Salon ● Sep. 12, 2011
The way Zoe simpers with Stan is unbearable; she's either giving us a little moue or playfully hooking a finger between her teeth like a coquette from silent screen days.
From Time ● Apr. 23, 2010
He was sick of sitting here listening to Mr. Reardon bully his family with all these “hypotheticals,” all these simpers and smirks, cruel smiles and humorless laughs.
From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
He also simpered that he was “belied and stared at, as if I was a Rhinoceros,” escalating his bath of self-pity to exclamations that “I am in danger of being murdered without doors.”
From Slate ● Aug. 9, 2016
He just simpered and whined ineffectually, then fell under the sway of the Faith Militant’s leader – whom he should be opposing.
From The Guardian ● May 16, 2016
"At least this wee fella loves me," he simpered, nanoseconds before the cur sank its gnashers into the hand of the Souness-shunning sadsack.
From The Guardian ● Nov. 14, 2012
Forthwith, from many a cover, svelte females simpered; deep-browed males smirked.
From Time Magazine Archive
She simpered and swished and ordered Harry about.
From "The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate" by Jacqueline Kelly
Asturias fills the novel with beggars, the idle rich, simpering aristocrats and political sycophants.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 14, 2022
Geoffrey’s simpering, emotional stuntedness may make it difficult for, say, the village’s priest or barkeep to see much of themselves in him.
From The Verge ● May 9, 2022
Davies was a gifted comedienne whose career was, if anything, hampered by her lover-producer’s insistence that she play only the simpering heroines of historical melodramas.
From Slate ● Nov. 12, 2020
The major chords, the marching rhythms, the simpering enforced jollity of it all.
From New York Times ● Dec. 26, 2019
"Quite right, sugar-plum," Mr Wormwood said, casting a look of such simpering sloppiness at his wife it would have made a cat sick.
From "Matilda" by Roald Dahl
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
