smug

[smuhg]

adjective, smug·ger, smug·gest.

contentedly confident of one's ability, superiority, or correctness; complacent.

trim; spruce; smooth; sleek.

Origin of smug

1545–55; perhaps < Middle Dutch smuc neat, pretty, nice

Related formssmug·ly, adverbsmug·ness, nounun·smug, adjectiveun·smug·ly, adverbun·smug·ness, noun

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

Related Words for smugger

complacent, egotistical, pompous, self-righteous, self-satisfied, conceited, holier-than-thou, priggish, snobbish, stuck-up, stuffy, superior, vainglorious, egoistic, puffed-up, hotshot

British Dictionary definitions for smugger

smug

adjective smugger or smuggest

excessively self-satisfied or complacent

archaic trim or neat

Derived Formssmugly, adverbsmugness, noun

Word Origin for smug

C16: of Germanic origin; compare Low German smuck neat

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 smugger

smug

adj.

1550s, "trim, neat, spruce, smart," possibly an alteration of Low German smuk "trim, neat," from Middle Low German smücken "to adorn" (originally "to dress," secondary sense of words meaning "to creep or slip into"), from the same source as smock. The meaning "having a self-satisfied air" is from 1701, an extension of the sense of "smooth, sleek" (1580s), which was commonly used of attractive women and girls. Related: Smugly; smugness.