Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • intransitive verb To smile in an annoying self-satisfied manner.
  • noun An annoying self-satisfied smile.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To smile affectedly or wantonly; look affectedly soft or kind.
  • Synonyms Simper, Smirk. See simper.
  • noun An affected smile; a soft look.
  • Smart; spruce.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • intransitive verb To smile in an affected or conceited manner; to smile with affected complaisance; to simper.
  • adjective Nice,; smart; spruce; affected; simpering.
  • noun A forced or affected smile; a simper.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun An uneven, often crooked smile that is insolent, offensively self-satisfied or scornful.
  • verb To smile in a way that is affected, smug, insolent or contemptuous.
  • adjective obsolete smart; spruce; affected; simpering

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb smile affectedly or derisively
  • noun a smile expressing smugness or scorn instead of pleasure

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English smirken, from Old English smercian, to smile; see smei- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Cf. Middle High German smielen/smieren ("to smile") ( > obsolete, rare German schmieren).

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Examples

Comments

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  • An exponent of the compliant smirk

    welcomed me, carried my case for pence.

    - Peter Reading, Placed by the Gideons, from Nothing for Anyone, 1977

    June 26, 2008