smirk
Americanverb (used without object)
noun
noun
verb
-
(intr) to give such a smile
-
(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
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
I kept my head down to hide my smirk.
From Literature
He was staring at the two kids, a smirk twisting his mouth.
From Literature
Moments later when the score flashed across the screen, Liu simply cracked a subtle smirk.
From Los Angeles Times
Mr. Powell, smirking and smug, tells his life story to a visiting priest who drops by his cell for a last conversation.
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
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
