Smirkier

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. More inclined to wear a smug, self-satisfied half-smile than someone or something else being compared
2. Showing a more knowing, smug, or sneering half-smile on the face when compared with another person
3. Having a more pronounced air of smug amusement or self-satisfied grinning in comparison to others

Etymology: "Smirkier" is an inflected form, the comparative of "smirky," meaning more smugly grinning. It is built on the adjective "smirky," which combines "smirk" with the suffix "-y," the common English ending that turns a noun into an adjective meaning "having the quality of" or "characterised by" the noun. The base "smirk" goes back a long way. Its ancestors trace to Proto-Germanic and then to Old English, where the root developed into "smercian" or a related form, carrying the sense of a self-satisfied or sly expression. The comparative "-ier" is added to "smirky" in the usual way for two-syllable adjectives ending in "-y," turning "y" into "i" before the ending.

Synonyms: smug, smirking

Antonyms: solemn, earnest