smug

[ smuhg ]

/ smʌg /

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See synonyms for: smug / smugness on Thesaurus.com

Definition of smug

adjective, smug·ger, smug·gest.

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

OTHER WORDS FROM smug

smugly, adverbsmugness, nounun·smug, adjectiveun·smug·ly, adverb

un·smug·ness, noun

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

How to use smug in a sentence

It happened when, having become smugly satisfied with my rendering of Mickey Mouse, I turned to Donald Duck.
There’s Nothing Wrong—and a Lot That’s Right—About Copying Other Artists|Malcolm Jones|January 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Detective smugly retorts, “You were saying something about procedures?”
Fall-Winter TV Preview: Snap Judgments of 2013–14’s New Shows|Jace Lacob, Kevin Fallon|July 16, 2013|DAILY BEAST
So says Thomas Hobbes, whose definition of all laughter illuminates those moments when we smugly parade past the shrunken giants.
GOP Primaries Provide a Feast for Our Schadenfreude Appetite|Eric G. Wilson|January 19, 2012|DAILY BEAST
I cannot drive away smugly from these gates with the simple feelings of a woman who has been paying a mere visit—I cannot!
The Gay Lord Quex|Arthur W. Pinero

Done nothing but succeed smugly in keeping myself in comfort outside the modern economic treadmill!
The Squirrel-Cage|Dorothy Canfield
He was feeling extremely gentle toward Nina those days and rather smugly virtuous.
The Breaking Point|Mary Roberts Rinehart
The cook drew himself up in a smugly humble fashion, a deprecating smirk on his face.
The Sea-Wolf|Jack London
They smugly argue from the known to the unknown on entirely false premises.
Ireland as It Is|Robert John Buckley (AKA R.J.B.)

British Dictionary definitions for smug

smug

/ (smʌɡ) /

adjective smugger or smuggest

excessively self-satisfied or complacent

archaic trim or neat

Derived forms of smug

smugly, 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

smug

Definition of smug

Origin of smug

OTHER WORDS FROM smug

Words related to smug

How to use smug in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for smug

Derived forms of smug

Word Origin for smug