smirk.
An uneven, often crooked smile that is insolent, self-satisfied, conceited or scornful.
Meaning & usage
An uneven, often crooked smile that is insolent, self-satisfied, conceited or scornful.
A forced or affected smile.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English smirken, from Old English smearcian (“to smile”), corresponding to smerian + -cian (English -k; compare talk and stalk from, respectively, tell and steal). The former element from Proto-Germanic *smarōną (“to mock, scoff at”), and the latter from Proto-Germanic *-kōną. Compare Middle High German smielen/smieren (“to smile”) ( > obsolete, rare German schmieren). Doublet of smile. The specific meaning of a mocking or unpleasant, malicious smile or grin develops in Early Modern English, but until the 18th century, it could still be used to describe a generic smile.
To smile in a way that is affected, smug, insolent or contemptuous.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English smirken, from Old English smearcian (“to smile”), corresponding to smerian + -cian (English -k; compare talk and stalk from, respectively, tell and steal). The former element from Proto-Germanic *smarōną (“to mock, scoff at”), and the latter from Proto-Germanic *-kōną. Compare Middle High German smielen/smieren (“to smile”) ( > obsolete, rare German schmieren). Doublet of smile. The specific meaning of a mocking or unpleasant, malicious smile or grin develops in Early Modern English, but until the 18th century, it could still be used to describe a generic smile.
smart; spruce; affected; simpering
Where this word comes from
From Middle English smirken, from Old English smearcian (“to smile”), corresponding to smerian + -cian (English -k; compare talk and stalk from, respectively, tell and steal). The former element from Proto-Germanic *smarōną (“to mock, scoff at”), and the latter from Proto-Germanic *-kōną. Compare Middle High German smielen/smieren (“to smile”) ( > obsolete, rare German schmieren). Doublet of smile. The specific meaning of a mocking or unpleasant, malicious smile or grin develops in Early Modern English, but until the 18th century, it could still be used to describe a generic smile.
Try it on your idea.
smirk has 5 characters. Say it out loud, try it alongside a description of your project, and see whether its meaning fits what you want to create.
These are naming prompts. Meanings and pronunciation can vary; existing brand and domain uses have not been checked.
Explore the name generatorA word with a source.
Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.