simper

[sim-per]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR simper ON THESAURUS.COM

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.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR simper ON THESAURUS.COM

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 simpering

No “simpering chit” of a girl, Rebecca is fierce and steely, a woman whose own father cannot quite figure her out.
Must Read Fiction: ‘Prague Fatale,’ ‘Derby Day’ and More|Malcolm Forbes, Hillary Kelly, Mythili Rao|May 9, 2012|DAILY BEAST
He was a simpering coxcomb of the first water, and the "loudest" dressed man in the state.
Sketches New and Old, Complete|Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)
He saw the weak and sickly faces of the girls of the factories, and the simpering, boisterous girls from the south of Market.
Martin Eden|Jack London
In the angle of the wall stood an indifferent statue of an eighteenth-century nymph, simpering, sallow, and cracked.
The American|Henry James

They would flock around her, sending savage glances to one another, and simpering foolishly at her.
The Garden of Eden|Max Brand
This was for some of them not easy at once to believe, for the dog's expression was one of simpering amiability.
The Wrong Twin|Harry Leon Wilson

British Dictionary definitions for simpering

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 simpering

simpering

adj.

1580s, present participle adjective from simper (v.). Related: Simperingly.

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.