smirk

Valid in Scrabble

Scrabble points
11
Words With Friends
12
Letters
5
Pronunciation
/smɜːk/
See all 2 pronunciations
/smɜːk/ · /smɝk/

Definition of smirk

4 senses · 3 parts of speech · etymology included

noun

  1. An uneven, often crooked smile that is insolent, self-satisfied, conceited or scornful.
See all 4 definitions

noun

  1. An uneven, often crooked smile that is insolent, self-satisfied, conceited or scornful.
  2. A forced or affected smile.
    “The bride, all smirk and blush, had just entered.”
    “We sat at a long table with a huge salmon on a platter in the center, prepared Szechuan style. Dad sat at one end of the table, and regaled all present with his stories. In the middle of one convoluted yarn, he rose and went around to the salmon in the center of the table. Using his fingers, he dug an eyeball out of the fish, popped it in his mouth and swallowed it whole as we looked on, aghast. “A real delicacy,” he said, with a boyish smirk.”

verb

  1. To smile in a way that is affected, smug, insolent or contemptuous.

adj

  1. (obsolete)smart; spruce; affected; simpering
    “So smirk, so smooth, his pricked Ears.”

Definitions from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA.

Etymology

From Middle English smirken, from Old English smearcian (“to smile”), corresponding to smerian + -cian (English -k; compare talk and stalk from, respectively, tell and steal). The former element from…

See full etymology

From Middle English smirken, from Old English smearcian (“to smile”), corresponding to smerian + -cian (English -k; compare talk and stalk from, respectively, tell and steal). The former element from Proto-Germanic *smarōną (“to mock, scoff at”), and the latter from Proto-Germanic *-kōną. Compare Middle High German smielen/smieren (“to smile”) ( > obsolete, rare German schmieren). Doublet of smile. The specific meaning of a mocking or unpleasant, malicious smile or grin develops in Early Modern English, but until the 18th century, it could still be used to describe a generic smile.

Anagrams of smirk

3 plays · some not in Scrabble

Best play mirks 11 points

Hooks

2 extensions · 2 back

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