Synonyms for smug
- adjective
Synonyms by meaning
Adjective
1. Self-satisfied — irritatingly pleased with oneself; offensively self-complacent, self-satisfied
self-satisfied, self-important, self-righteous, sanctimonious, smarmy, holier-than-thou, pompous, haughty, conceited, complacent, presumptuous, overweening, pious, vain, inflated, priggish, gloaty, arrogant, supercilious, cocky, pretentious, egotistical
2. Affected — studiously neat or nice, especially in dress; spruce; affectedly precise; smooth and prim
Definitions
- adj. 1
Irritatingly pleased with oneself; offensively self-complacent, self-satisfied.
Kate looked extremely smug this morning.
- adj. 2
Studiously neat or nice, especially in dress; spruce; affectedly precise; smooth and prim.
Example sentences
- sanctimonious I've had enough of this sanctimonious talk.
Popularity over time
| Word | 1850 → 2019 | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| smug | rising | |
| sanctimonious | rising |
Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.
By length
- 4 letters
- neat1, trim1, vain1
- 5 letters
- cocky2, pious2
- 6 letters
- spruce1, smarmy2, gloaty
- 7 letters
- pompous2, haughty2
- 8 letters
- affected3, arrogant3, inflated3, priggish
- 9 letters
- conceited3
- 10 letters
- complacent3
- 11 letters
- pretentious3, egotistical5, overweening, overrefined
- 12 letters
- presumptuous4, supercilious5
- 13 letters
- sanctimonious5
The small number after each word is its number of syllables (cocky2 = 2 syllables).
In other languages
- Français
- fat
- Español
- tonto
- Deutsch
- selbstzufrieden