1
as in arrogant
having too high an opinion of oneself
a winner who was so smug that he lost the goodwill of the crowd
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in tidy
being clean and in good order
the suburb's smug lawns and tree-lined streets bespeak a comfortable affluence
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Recent Examples of smug
The season’s final images of the now-President Grace Penn looking smug and Wyler looking panicked signal the power struggle to come.
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Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 13 Nov. 2024
Mars took a chilling photo of Carolyn Bryant, a thin, pale brunette with dark lipstick and sharp eyebrows, sitting cross-armed in the gallery, looking smug.
—Paige Williams, The New Yorker, 3 Nov. 2024
But while the 118 is able to save both Celeste and her mother-in-law’s final resting place, a smug Trent trips and drops the vase, an appropriate punchline to a very silly cold open.
—Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 7 Nov. 2024
The smug conventional wisdom has it that voters don’t care much about abstractions like democracy or the rule of law.
—Susan B. Glasser, The New Yorker, 3 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for smug 
Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 13 Nov. 2024
Mars took a chilling photo of Carolyn Bryant, a thin, pale brunette with dark lipstick and sharp eyebrows, sitting cross-armed in the gallery, looking smug.
—Paige Williams, The New Yorker, 3 Nov. 2024
But while the 118 is able to save both Celeste and her mother-in-law’s final resting place, a smug Trent trips and drops the vase, an appropriate punchline to a very silly cold open.
—Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 7 Nov. 2024
The smug conventional wisdom has it that voters don’t care much about abstractions like democracy or the rule of law.
—Susan B. Glasser, The New Yorker, 3 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for smug
Recent Examples of Synonyms for smug
Adjective
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Some media outlets are surrendering to Trump already This absurd boasting — arrogant without portfolio — is just what Trump is looking for in the VOA job.Bill Goodykoontz, The Arizona Republic, 13 Dec. 2024
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The single-camera series follows the arrogant, loudmouth U.S. Army Colonel Patrick Quinn (Leary), who, after an unfiltered rant, is reassigned to the Netherlands, where he is punished with a command position at the least important army base in the world.Denise Petski, Deadline, 9 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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Just a few spoonfuls of flavorful cocoa (or, in some versions, a couple of tidy squares of baking chocolate) turn this cake a pale, ruddy brown, the same color as the building blocks of brown stone building facades, thus its name.Alana Al-Hatlani, Southern Living, 22 Dec. 2024
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With Sonic 3 anticipating tidy profits as North America prepares for the Christmas / New Year’s moviegoing season, developing a fourth movie makes sense.Ash Parrish, The Verge, 19 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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As of this week, there’s even a new Glossier product on the block sure to make Emily Weiss proud, a chubby eye shadow stick that’s excellent for accentuating even the most natural of makeup looks.Kiana Murden, Vogue, 16 Dec. 2024
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Funny Christmas jokes for kids, knock-knocks, memes to make dad proud How to prepare for winter 2024 — from freezing pipes to driving in snow and ice Who created Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer?Ana Rocío Álvarez Bríñez, The Courier-Journal, 16 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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The unnamed abode includes a sofa with storage, plus a neat mini mezzanine sleeping area.Adam Williams, New Atlas, 26 Dec. 2024
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The 3000 hours of footage has been condensed to a neat 85 minutes to tell this unlikely tale of humanity.Tom Rogers, Newsweek, 26 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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The film, which centers on a group of egotistical actors making a Vietnam War movie, grossed nearly $200 million worldwide and picked up an Oscar nomination for supporting actor thanks to Robert Downey Jr.Zack Sharf, Variety, 26 Nov. 2024
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And with Elon Musk playing a key role in this new administration, who knows in which direction his bombastic, egotistical whims may take AI development?Matt Robison, Newsweek, 20 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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On a Drive In cars, formaldehyde adhesives can be found in the dashboards, seat coverings, flooring materials, carpeting, door trim, window sealant and armrests.Topher Sanders, ProPublica, 9 Dec. 2024
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For 2025 the company added a new Black Edition trim, tested here, with 20-inch wheels, dark trim and welcome lighting with the Infiniti logo.Yaakov Katz, Newsweek, 28 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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Not in the sense of some vain idea of playing with people’s heads.Seth Abramovitch, The Hollywood Reporter, 13 Dec. 2024
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Luke Evans, 45, who played the very vain but extremely fit character in the live-action Beauty and the Beast film, got very candid about the topic on the newest episode of the How to Fail with Elizabeth Day podcast.Lauren Huff, EW.com, 29 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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This is the worst kind of football team: a conceited but objectively mediocre squad.Dieter Kurtenbach, The Mercury News, 17 Nov. 2024
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Rory Kinnear steals some of the best lines as the conceited British prime minister, and Ato Essandoh, as Kate’s deputy chief, plays the ever-flustered man surrounded by extremely capable women with admirable humor, charm, and confidence.Ben Travers, IndieWire, 30 Oct. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near smug
Cite this Entry
“Smug.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/smug. Accessed 31 Dec. 2024.
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