Smirkiest

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Displaying the most self-satisfied, knowing half-smile of anyone compared with others
2. Wearing the most smugly amused and superior facial expression of all those being compared
3. Having the most conceited, self-congratulatory grin among a group of people or things

Etymology: "Smirkiest" is the superlative of "smirky", so it is an inflected form, and the work is really done by the base word. "Smirky" is "smirk" plus the suffix "-y", which turns a noun into an adjective meaning "having the qualities of" the noun, here a smirk. The superlative adds "-iest" to mark the highest degree of that quality, so the word describes the most smugly self-satisfied of a group. The base word "smirk" traces back through Middle English and Old English, where the Old English "-iġ" suffix contributed to the adjectival form. Its ultimate ancestry reaches far back into the Germanic branch of Indo-European, though the English word itself is the part that matters for ordinary use.

Synonyms: smug, smirking, simpering, smarmy

Antonyms: solemn, earnest