How to Use smug in a Sentence

smug

adjective

• You can wipe that smug look off your face.
• It's OK to celebrate your success, but try not to be too smug about it.
• At the same time, members of the Right shouldn’t be so smug.
  — John Tamny, Forbes, 10 Oct. 2021
• And frankly, that sort of thing now feels more than a bit smug.
  — Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 21 Feb. 2024
• The Edgars are thrilled — and a bit smug — about his success.
  — Nora McGreevy, BostonGlobe.com, 8 Aug. 2019
• And now those smug b-holes have to lick your nuts like the rest of us do.
  — Michael Schneider, Variety, 14 May 2024
• Rachel ripping the smug grin right off of Shane’s face.
  — Liam Hes, Vogue, 16 Aug. 2021
• The smug tone of the mock news conference added to the outrage.
  — New York Times, 8 Dec. 2021
• Some shrugged at the heat wave; others were a bit smug about it.
  — Michael Smolens, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 June 2024
• That’s a smug response to the people who pay their bills.
  — Joe Soucheray, Twin Cities, 20 Oct. 2019
• But the Internet was quick to point out that the photo was smug.
  — miamiherald, 13 Sep. 2017
• The camera cuts to Nana proudly toting a weapon the size of her body, a smug look on her face.
  — Laura Zornosa, Time, 18 Aug. 2023
• The thing about the smug is that their karma can sometimes be sudden.
  — latimes.com, 12 July 2019
• Then another smile, this one even more smug than the last.
  — Los Angeles Times, 20 Aug. 2021
• Meanwhile, the smug parishioners despise the poor folks around their fine church.
  — Celia Storey, Arkansas Online, 24 May 2021
• And then there's that shot of Littlefinger looking all smug and smirky.
  — Scott Meslow, GQ, 21 June 2017
• The modern-day version of this conundrum is why smug Robert from sales got the job and not you.
  — Sarah Todd, Quartz, 15 Oct. 2021
• Just look at how smug her face is front row with the McStablishment.
  — Rafi Schwartz, The Week, 6 Jan. 2023
• Sorry to be so smug, but the Celtics had no business losing a game in this series.
  — Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 21 Apr. 2023
• The smug assailant took off on foot uptown on Second Ave., cops said.
  — Elizabeth Keogh, New York Daily News, 8 May 2024
• Uthaug steers clear of smug self-awareness and instead delivers one of the freshest takes on the genre in years.
  — WIRED, 10 Feb. 2023
• Back around 2014 or so, the smug confidence came from the likes of Mercedes-Benz, which still didn't see Tesla as a threat.
  — Ezra Dyer, Car and Driver, 3 Sep. 2022
• GOP senators looked smug as Democrats tried in vain to even talk about their objections to the bill.
  — Jack Moore, GQ, 28 July 2017
• Even at its height, Playboy seemed to have a smug self-importance that gave the finger to the common man.
  — Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 5 Sep. 2023
• But too often, the Elect have resorted to a smug moralism.
  — Ian Buruma, Harper's Magazine, 2 June 2023
• Obviously, the term is rude and very smug—in the same vein as the guys who wear One Less Car T-shirts while riding their bike.
  — Kaitlyn Tiffany, The Atlantic, 5 July 2023
• Vibe: Creating a mix and feeling smug about your taste.
  — Mehera Bonner, Marie Claire, 9 Aug. 2017
• This of course, set off the usual backlash on talk radio and the like, and the skewering of smug Prius owners on South Park.
  — Brendan McAleer, Car and Driver, 14 Dec. 2022
• Soon, social media was flooded by a wave of smug posts on the marchers’ supposedly superior protesting chops.
  — Samantha Eyler, Foreign Affairs, 31 Jan. 2017
• He is recruited by the FBI (represented by a smug bureaucrat and an inept field agent) to infiltrate and bring down the Brotherhood, a violent white-supremacist biker gang.
  — Helaine Williams, arkansasonline.com, 10 Aug. 2024

Last Updated: 12 Dec 2024