smirk

American  

[smurk] / smɜrk /

verb (used without object)

1. to smile in an affected, smug, or offensively familiar way.

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noun

1. the facial expression of a person who smirks.

smirk British  

/ smɜːk /

noun

1. a smile expressing scorn, smugness, etc, rather than pleasure

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verb

1. (intr) to give such a smile

2. (tr) to express with such a smile

Usage

What does smirk mean? A smirk is a kind of smile, but it’s not a friendly smile—it’s often a sarcastic or arrogant one or one that’s intended to provoke or irritate the person who sees it. Smirk is also a verb that means to smile in such a way. People often smirk to show contempt for someone or something—such as by smirking at a person who’s angry at them. Sometimes, though, the word simply refers to a kind of slight smile or a smile that looks like a smirk usually does—a baby might smirk, for example, obviously without meaning anything by it. Example: Wipe that smirk off your face and take this seriously!

Other Word Forms

• smirker noun
• smirking adjective
• smirkingly adverb
• unsmirking adjective
• unsmirkingly adverb

Etymology

Origin of smirk

First recorded before 900; Middle English smirken (verb), Old English sme(a)rcian

Explanation

A smirk is specific kind of smile, one that suggests self-satisfaction, smugness, or even pleasure at someone else's unhappiness or misfortune. Smirk can function as either a noun or a verb: "Wipe that smirk off your face. Don't smirk at me, buddy: you're gonna get yours next!" A smirk implies you think you're better than the person you're smirking at. Ever heard of the term "service with a smile"? Yeah, well, there's a reason it's not "service with a smirk."

Example Sentences

Still, I guffawed when Becket popped back into his present-day cell to poke fun at his audience, the Catholic priest: “The last thing the Church wanted was an investigation,” he says with a smirk.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 18, 2026

On Chinese social media, pictures show some users sticking couplets or upside down pictures of Malfoy's signature smirk.

From BBC • Feb. 4, 2026

Cignetti, smiling through that permanent I told ya so smirk, brushed off Indiana’s new status as the No. 1 heavy.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 7, 2025

It is probably easier to smirk or cast aspersions at the idea of a love for the ages than it is to accept that you have not met that person in your own life.

From Salon • Nov. 11, 2025

With a smirk he stuck an arm out to stop me while simultaneously dangling it just out of my reach.

From "Glitch" by Laura Martin

Related Words

• grin
• sneer