simper

[sim-per]

verb (used without object)

to smile in a silly, self-conscious way.

verb (used with object)

to say with a simper.

noun

a silly, self-conscious smile.

RELATED WORDS

sneer, smirk, leer, grin, beam

Nearby words

Origin of simper

1555–65; akin to Middle Dutch zimperlijc, dialectal Danish simper affected, Danish sippe affected woman, orig. one who sips (see sip), a way of drinking thought to be affected

SYNONYMS FOR simper

1, 3. smirk, snigger, snicker.

Related formssim·per·er, nounsim·per·ing·ly, adverbun·sim·per·ing, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for simpered

How the great cable must have simpered with the foolishness of it.
The Sick-a-Bed Lady|Eleanor Hallowell Abbott
It was a large room, with heavy wainscoting, above which simpered or frowned a long row of her ancestors.
Sandy|Alice Hegan Rice
Rex paraded the room with mincing steps, and simpered at his own reflection in the looking-glass.
Sisters Three|Mrs. George de Horne Vaizey
He simpered and tried to turn semi-savage, and was simply ridiculous.
Summer Cruising in the South Seas|Charles Warren Stoddard

"I shall hold you to your promise, M'sieu," she simpered at last.
A Traitor's Wooing|Headon Hill

British Dictionary definitions for simpered

simper

verb

(intr) to smile coyly, affectedly, or in a silly self-conscious way

(tr) to utter (something) in a simpering manner

noun

a simpering smile; smirk

Derived Formssimperer, nounsimpering, adjective, nounsimperingly, adverb

Word Origin for simper

C16: probably from Dutch simper affected

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

Word Origin and History for simpered

simper

1560s, "to smile in an affected and silly way," perhaps from a Scandinavian source (e.g. dialectal Danish semper "affected, coy, prudish") or Middle Dutch zimperlijk "affected, coy, prim," of unknown origin. Related: Simpered; simpering. As a noun, 1590s, from the verb.