as in ingratiation
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Examples of smarm in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Occasionally, these DMs teeter dangerously on the edge of smarm, like a small orange card, taped to a light pole, with a handwritten insistence:
But usually, whether ephemeral guerrilla art, stern warnings or idle musings, the messages have a similar effect.
—
Dodai Stewart, New York Times, 26 June 2023
For at least some of the writers working in their employ, especially at Gawker, this was not merely a business rivalry but an ideological battle: irony vs. earnestness, criticism vs. civility, snark vs. smarm.
—Max Read, Washington Post, 21 Apr. 2023
Instead of revealing the swagger of Sinatra or the self-torment of Marlon Brando or the wiliness of Jack Nicholson or the smarm of Leonardo DiCaprio, he’s subdued himself while more confident performers, such as Corrin and Pugh, snatch the spotlight.
—Michael Schulman, The New Yorker, 22 Oct. 2022
So precise, so meticulously sensitive to the details, to the cadence and lingo of that podcast, his conversation with two sycophantic guests (played with pitch-perfect smarm by Jeremy Levick and Rajat Suresh) is a master class in sounding absolutely earth-shattering while saying precisely nothing.
—New York Times, 17 Dec. 2021
See all Example Sentences for smarm 
Dodai Stewart, New York Times, 26 June 2023
For at least some of the writers working in their employ, especially at Gawker, this was not merely a business rivalry but an ideological battle: irony vs. earnestness, criticism vs. civility, snark vs. smarm.
—Max Read, Washington Post, 21 Apr. 2023
Instead of revealing the swagger of Sinatra or the self-torment of Marlon Brando or the wiliness of Jack Nicholson or the smarm of Leonardo DiCaprio, he’s subdued himself while more confident performers, such as Corrin and Pugh, snatch the spotlight.
—Michael Schulman, The New Yorker, 22 Oct. 2022
So precise, so meticulously sensitive to the details, to the cadence and lingo of that podcast, his conversation with two sycophantic guests (played with pitch-perfect smarm by Jeremy Levick and Rajat Suresh) is a master class in sounding absolutely earth-shattering while saying precisely nothing.
—New York Times, 17 Dec. 2021
See all Example Sentences for smarm
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'smarm.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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“Smarm.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/smarm. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.
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