smugness

noun

Definition of smugnessnext
as in vanity
an often unjustified feeling of being pleased with oneself or with one's situation or achievements the sense of smugness that can come with too many easy victories

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Examples Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for smugness
  1. vanity
  2. ego
  3. pride
  4. arrogance
  5. complacency
  6. self-satisfaction
Noun
  • This is relatively spacious and includes a washer/dryer hookup, flushing toilet, vanity sink, and a shower/bath unit, which is always a luxury in a tiny house.
    Adam Williams, New Atlas, 27 Dec. 2024
  • But even then, some of the talk is witty and instructive, building toward a resolution that, if not happy, feels conciliatory and hard-earned, while true to its characters’ flaws and vanities.
    Guy Lodge, Variety, 27 Dec. 2024
Definition of vanity
Noun
  • The mentors who called you out, the lessons that battered your ego.
    Jodie Cook, Forbes, 19 Dec. 2024
  • After surviving the Holocaust, a Hungarian Jewish architect (Adrien Brody) comes to America and is commissioned by an industrialist (Guy Pearce) to build a community center, while trying to bring his wife (Felicity Jones) over from Europe and weathering his own ego and vices.
    Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, 12 Dec. 2024
Definition of ego
Noun
  • Somewhere in the nearby dry grasses another pride of lions lurk, ready to pounce on any younger buffalo whose hooves end up stuck in the mud.
    Liam Hess, Vogue, 29 Dec. 2024
  • The project leader, Tomohiro Nomi, expressed pride in the accomplishment, emphasizing that the robot’s AI was designed to develop its own optimal throwing style.
    Kurt Knutsson, CyberGuy Report, Fox News, 27 Dec. 2024
Definition of pride
Noun
  • Kudos are also due Christian Probst as a prince without a drop of royal arrogance.
    Rob Hubbard, Twin Cities, 12 Dec. 2024
  • Barack Obama came across to his foes as the principle of arrogance.
    Philip Elliott, TIME, 11 Dec. 2024
Definition of arrogance
Noun
  • The idea that success leads to complacency and complacency leads to failure remains as relevant as ever for CEOs who want to consistently excel in their management and leadership positions around the globe.
    Nirmal Chhabria, Forbes, 27 Dec. 2024
  • This means the ‘Football Grounds’ series effectively chronicles the shift from decades of neglect and complacency through to the building boom that followed the Taylor Report into the Hillsborough disaster.
    Richard Sutcliffe, The Athletic, 26 Dec. 2024
Definition of complacency
Noun
  • Corporate leaders will be called upon to overcome self-satisfaction with progress made in the advancement of gender parity for women, especially those in senior and middle management.
    Michael Peregrine, Forbes, 30 Dec. 2024
  • Megalopolis posits a world of clueless liberal self-satisfaction, missing every point of contemporary alertness to ongoing lawfare and sedition.
    Armond White, National Review, 4 Oct. 2024
Definition of self-satisfaction
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Thesaurus Entries Near smugness

smuggling

smugness

smut

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Cite this Entry

“Smugness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/smugness. Accessed 5 Jan. 2025.

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