smug
[smuhg]
- contentedly confident of one's ability, superiority, or correctness; complacent.
- trim; spruce; smooth; sleek.
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Origin of smug
1545–55; perhaps < Middle Dutch smuc neat, pretty, nice
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for smugly
Contemporary Examples
So says Thomas Hobbes, whose definition of all laughter illuminates those moments when we smugly parade past the shrunken giants.
Historical Examples
"They'll fall faster than any known enemy weapon can track them," he said, smugly.
Minor DetailJohn Michael Sharkey
And how smugly, to be sure, would he talk about his children's tutor!
The Red and the BlackStendhal
When we read about that, as children, we said smugly: "What a fool Paris was!"
SuperwomenAlbert Payson Terhune
"October 1st, 2144, is the patent date," said Joe Silver smugly.
The Giants From Outer SpaceGeoff St. Reynard
"Used to be a barber in civilian life," the boy said smugly.
Uniform of a ManDave Dryfoos
smug
- excessively self-satisfied or complacent
- archaic trim or neat
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Word Origin
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
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Word Origin and History for smugly
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.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper