simper
Americanverb (used without object)
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simpers,
present (3rd person singular)
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simpered,
past participle, past
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simpering
present participle
verb (used with object)
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simpers,
present (3rd person singular)
-
simpered,
past participle, past
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simpering
present participle
noun
verb
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(intr) to smile coyly, affectedly, or in a silly self-conscious way
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(tr) to utter (something) in a simpering manner
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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simpersimple
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simperssimple
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have simperedperfect
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has simperedperfect
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am simperingprogressive
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are simperingprogressive
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is simperingprogressive
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have been simperingperfect progressive
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has been simperingperfect progressive
Past
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simperedsimple
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had simperedperfect
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was simperingprogressive
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were simperingprogressive
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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
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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
“They say I’m too young to love you,” she simpers on “Brooklyn Baby”.
From Time ● Jun. 17, 2014
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
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
Nature in them is not idealized; she is at best played for pratfalls and at worst she is simpered over and over-sanitized.
From Time Magazine Archive
The women at the other tables simpered as I wove past, or so I imagined.
From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu
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
Bran even managed to alienate Jon, turning what should have been a loving reunion into a simpering, wet-mouthed, creepy awkwardfest.
From The Guardian ● Apr. 18, 2019
There were no simpering sycophants in the GHW Bush White House.
From New York Times ● Dec. 3, 2018
I yet recall his simpering Face as he offered us Tea.
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson
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