smirk

[ smurk ]

/ smɜrk /

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See synonyms for: smirk / smirked / smirking on Thesaurus.com

verb (used without object)

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

noun

the facial expression of a person who smirks.

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Origin of smirk

before 900; Middle English smirken (v.), Old English sme(a)rcian

OTHER WORDS FROM smirk

smirker, nounsmirk·ing·ly, adverbun·smirk·ing, adjectiveun·smirk·ing·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use smirk in a sentence

A smirking Ramone is shown wearing both a CBGB shirt and heavy gold chains, posing next to an enormous boombox.
‘All Good Cretins Go to Heaven’: Dee Dee Ramone’s Twisted Punk Paintings|Melissa Leon|December 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Yet, after months of backdoor negotiations there was Xi, stone-facedly shaking hands with a smirking Abe.
Beijing’s ‘Star Trek’ APEC Summit|Jake Adelstein|November 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He told me to enter while smirking, knowing full well my intentions.
Cocaine, Politicians and Wives: Inside the World’s Most Bizarre Prison|Jason Batansky|October 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
No character this year is more volatile and unpredictable; you never know what the hunched-over, smirking Quell will do next.
The Daily Beast’s Oscar Nominees: Leonardo DiCaprio, Anne Hathaway & More|Marlow Stern|January 4, 2013|DAILY BEAST

Maria is the first “political criminal” in the family, she says, smirking between puffs of her cigarette.
Russia’s Opposition Movement Starts to Crack|Anna Nemtsova|November 14, 2012|DAILY BEAST
I soon find out when they are trying to cheat me; then they come smirking and smiling with 'Guten Abis.'
Skipper Worse|Alexander Lange Kielland
The organ gallery appears to be a pleasant resort for a few hours' gossip and smirking.
Our Churches and Chapels|Atticus
Tarling put the girl from him and looked at the smirking manager.
The Daffodil Mystery|Edgar Wallace
All the evening we sat, almost in silence, inanely smirking at each other and listening to the rain.
Thirty Years in Australia|Ada Cambridge
Nodding and smirking at Morsfield's approach, she entreated Aminta to step up and in, for the horses were coming out of the yard.
Lord Ormont and his Aminta, Complete|George Meredith

British Dictionary definitions for smirk

smirk

/ (smɜːk) /

noun

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

verb

(intr) to give such a smile

(tr) to express with such a smile

Derived forms of smirk

smirker, nounsmirking, adjectivesmirkingly, adverb

Word Origin for smirk

Old English smearcian; related to smer derision, Old High German bismer contempt, bismerōn to scorn

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

smirk

Origin of smirk

OTHER WORDS FROM smirk

Words related to smirk

How to use smirk in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for smirk

Derived forms of smirk

Word Origin for smirk