smug
pronunciation
How to pronounce smug in British English:
UK [smʌg]
How to pronounce smug in American English:
US [smʌɡ]
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- Adjective:
- marked by excessive complacency or self-satisfaction
Word Origin
- smug (adj.)
- 1550s, "trim, neat, spruce, smart," possibly an alteration of Low German smuk "trim, neat," from Middle Low German smücken "to adorn" (originally "to dress," secondary sense of words meaning "to creep or slip into"), from the same source as smock. The meaning "having a self-satisfied air" is from 1701, an extension of the sense of "smooth, sleek" (1580s), which was commonly used of attractive women and girls. Related: Smugly; smugness.
Synonym
Example
- 1. In 1887 physicists were feeling pretty smug about their subject .
- 2. Obviously I react badly to the smug and the sensible .
- 3. All this explains why german leaders can sound a little smug these days .
- 4. So far , it might be thought by smug westerners , so depressing .
- 5. Those who run one-year mba programmes may be feeling smug at this point .