Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: Smirk |
SmirkNoun1. A smile expressing smugness or scorn instead of pleasure. Verb1. Smile affectedly or derisively. Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "smirk" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1803. (references) |
| Domain | Definition |
Slang in 1811 | SMIRK. A finical spruce fellow. To smirk; to smile, or look pleasantly. Source: 1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
Synonym: SmirkSynonym: simper (v). (additional references) |
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Amusement | Smile, simper, smirk; grin, grin like a Cheshire cat; mock, laugh in one's sleeve; laugh, laugh outright; giggle, titter, crow, snicker, chuckle, cackle; burst out, burst into a fit of laughter; shout, split, roar. |
Rejoicing | Smile, simper, smirk, grin; broad grin, sardonic grin. |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
Crosswords: Smirk |
| English words defined with "smirk": Smerk, Smerky, Smicker, Smirked, Smirking, Smirkingly, Smirky. (references) |
| Specialty definitions using "smirk": Pink-Shirt Book. (references) |
| Domain | Usage | |
Screenplays | That's her sexy smirk, brother (Deliver Us from Eva; writing credit: James Iver Mattson; B.E. Brauner) Don't smirk Patton (Patton; writing credit: Ladislas Farago; Omar N. Bradley) Every time I mention the vagina doctor, you get this little smirk on your face (The Osbournes; writing credit: Liliana Abud; Jaime García Estrada) You wipe that smirk off your face (That '70s Show; writing credit: Stacia Raymond) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title |
Books | |
Music |
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Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
 |
| "Nice Sand box Huh" by Peter Skadberg Commentary: "Child in sand box with smirk on face." |
Source: photographs selected by the editor, with permission from the photographers. |
| Author | Quotation |
Lord Chesterfield | A constant smirk upon the face, and a whiffing activity of the body, are strong indications of futility. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | |
| "Smirk" is generally used as a noun (singular) -- approximately 89.47% of the time. "Smirk" is used about 95 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Noun (singular) | 89.47% | 85 | 35,870 |
| Lexical Verb (infinitive) | 9.47% | 9 | 117,287 |
| Lexical Verb (base form) | 1.05% | 1 | 339,140 |
| Total | 100.00% | 95 | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Expression | Frequency per Day |
smirk | 19 |
bush smirk | 2 |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Language | Translations for "smirk"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | |
Albanian | buzëqeshje i vetëkënaqur, buzëqesh me vetëkënaqësi. (various references) | |
Arabic | وصمة (blot, brand, smudge, spot, stain, stamp), تكلف الإبتسام (simper), بسمة متكلفة. (various references) | |
Bulgarian | усмихвам се самодоволно, усмихвам се глупаво, усмихвам се мазно, самодоволна усмивка, мазна усмивка, подхилвам се (grin). (various references) | |
Czech | samolibì se šklebit, hloupì se uculovat. (various references) | |
Farsi | پوزخندزدن (Grin, Simper, Sneer, Snicker, Titter), پوزخند (Grin, Sneer, Snicker), لبخندمغرورانه زدن . (various references) | |
Finnish | hymyillä (grin, simper, smile, smile all over one's face, smile on, sneer), hymyhuuli (grin, simper, smile, smile all over one's face, smile on, sneer), hymy (smile). (various references) | |
French | sourire d'un air satisfait, petit sourire satisfait, petit sourire narquois, petit sourire affecté. (various references) | |
German | grinsen (grin, sneer, to grin, to smirk, to sneer). (various references) | |
Greek | μειδιώ επιτετηδευμένωσ, προσποιητό χαμόγελο, χαζό χαμόγελο, ακκίζομαι (act affectedly, mince). (various references) | |
Hebrew | לחיך חיוך מעושה (simper), חיוך מעושה (grin, simper). (various references) | |
Hungarian | önelégült mosoly. (various references) | |
Italian | sorriso affettato (simper). (various references) | |
Japanese Kanji | 似非笑い (affected smile). (various references) | |
Japanese Katakana | えせわらい (affected smile). (various references) | |
Manx | smooirooil (snigger, titter). (various references) | |
Pig Latin | irksmay.(various references) | |
Portuguese | sorrir tolamente, sorrir afetadamente, desfazer-se em sorrisos. (various references) | |
Romanian | surâs afectat (grimace), zâmbet superior, rânji (grin, simper, snarl, sneer), rânjet (grin, simper, sneer), avea un surâs afectat. (various references) | |
Russian | усмехаться усмешка, ухмыляться (grin to himself, laugh in one's beard, simper), самодовольная улыбка. (various references) | |
Serbo-Croatian | zlobno smeškanje, zlobno se smeškati. (various references) | |
Spanish | sonrisa afectada (simper). (various references) | |
Swedish | smila (grin, smile), smil (grin, smile), mysa (smile), flina (giggle, grin, sneer), flin (fleer, grin, sneer). (various references) | |
Thai | ยิ้มเยาะ (sneer, sniff at). (various references) | |
Turkish | sırıtmak (grin, grin at, grin like a cheshire cat), sırıtma (grin, grinning), zorla gülümsemek, yapmacık gülümsemek, yapmacık gülümseme, pişmiş kelle gibi sırıtmak, cezalandırmak (castigate, chastise, cop it, correct, crime, discipline, dish out, give smb. gyp, penalize, plague, punish, sconce, scourge, slate). (various references) | |
Ukrainian | самовдоволено посміхатися, самовдоволена посмішка, елегантний (becoming, chic, debonair, delicate, elegant, genteel, graceful, nice, nifty, primp, silk stocking, spiffed, swagger, swell, well-tailored), підтягнутий (taut, tucked up). (various references) | |
Vietnamese | nụ cười điệu (simper). (various references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references. | ||
Derivations | |
Words beginning with "smirk": smirked, smirker, smirkers, smirkier, smirkiest, smirking, smirks, smirky. (additional references) | |
| |
"Smirk" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: Esmark, mirk, Osmiro, Sammick, simk, skirk, smaak, smark, smarn, smarv, smek, smer, smern, smi, smick, smilk, smir, smiri, smirr, smirt, smurk, Smyrl, snirk, snork, snurk. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
| # of Phoneme Matches | Pronunciation | Word(s) rhyming with "smirk" (pronounced smer"k) |
| 3 | -m er" k | Merk, murk. |
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits. | ||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
Direct Anagrams: mirks. | |
| Words within the letters "i-k-m-r-s" | |
-1 letter: irks, kirs, kris, mirk, mirs, rims, risk, skim. | |
-2 letters: irk, ism, kir, mir, mis, rim, sim, sir, ski, sri. | |
-3 letters: is, mi, si. | |
| Words containing the letters "i-k-m-r-s" | |
+1 letter: kermis, smirks, smirky. | |
+2 letters: imbarks, imparks, irksome, kashmir, kirmess, mikrons, milkers, mirkest, mismark, muskier, rumakis, skimmer, smirked, smirker, smokier. | |
+3 letters: finmarks, kashmirs, keramics, kermises, kremlins, krimmers, markings, mirkiest, misliker, mismarks, mistaker, monikers, murkiest, omikrons, ramekins, rampikes, rimrocks, sickroom, silkworm, sitzmark, skiagram, skimmers, skimpier, skirmish, smerking, smirkers, smirkier, smirking, tamarisk, trinkums. | |
+4 letters: diemakers, disembark, drumstick, finnmarks, foremilks, gimcracks, icemakers, irksomely, kaiserdom, kaiserism, kilograms, kirigamis, kirmesses, limericks, malarkies, mavericks, milkworts, millworks, mimickers, miniparks, miniskirt, mislikers, mismarked, misreckon, misstrike, misstruck, mistakers, mockeries, monickers, monkeries, murkiness, overmilks, semiworks, sickrooms, silkworms, sitzmarks, skiagrams, smirkiest, tamarisks, tidemarks, timeworks, wigmakers. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
| 1. Definition 2. Synonyms 3. Crosswords 4. Usage: Modern | 5. Usage: Commercial 6. Images: Slideshow 7. Images: Digital Art 8. Quotations: Familiar | 9. Usage Frequency 10. Expressions: Internet 11. Translations: Modern 12. Derivations | 13. Rhymes 14. Anagrams 15. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
