SMILING Synonyms: 226 Similar and Opposite Words

smiling 1 of 3

adjective

as in laughing

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smiling

2 of 3

noun

as in cheering

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Dissimilar Words

smiling

3 of 3

verb

present participle of smile

as in grinning

to express an emotion (as amusement) by curving the lips upward the soldier smiled in pleasure when he saw the giant sign welcoming him home

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in sneering

to express scornful amusement by means of facial contortions smiled at their ridiculous antics and walked away in disgust

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of smiling

Adjective

Women in black hijabs and abayas, many wearing badges depicting Zahra’s smiling face, lined the streets as men prayed over her casket, placed outside the Husseiniya, a Shiite hall. — Rania Abouzeid, New Yorker, 21 May 2026 As Thomas’ parents, Katina Smith and Bobby Thomas, unveiled their son’s smiling statue in the Broncos’ Ring of Fame Plaza last Sunday, as scores of his former teammates looked on in sadness and joy, Miller was 800 miles away in Dallas, gearing up for a game against the Cowboys. — Luca Evans, Denver Post, 24 Oct. 2025

Noun

The boos were more scattered and barely audible amidst the applause and cheers, which grew louder when the ballpark’s video boards showed the 2018 champ smiling, clapping, and waving from the visitors’ dugout. — Gabrielle Starr, Boston Herald, 21 Aug. 2026 Karen Jesch, a PhD student at Boston College’s Canine Cognition Center, points out that human smiling is a strange behavior to begin with, and not always a happy one. — Niranjana Rajalakshmi, Popular Science, 14 May 2026 There was a lot of nervous smiling. — Raechal Shewfelt, Entertainment Weekly, 31 Oct. 2025 Umanmielen responded with a GIF of a smiling, but famously blind, Stevie Wonder. — Alex Zietlow, Charlotte Observer, 25 Sep. 2025

Verb

Carlile is having a total blast smiling and bopping through it, and bandmates Maren Morris, Amanda Shires, and Natalie Hemby’s harmonies are divine. — Rebecca Alter, Vulture, 25 Aug. 2026 The design featured an orange-and-black clown outfit, black gloves and a dark face covering with an exaggerated smiling mouth. — Rosemary Feitelberg, Footwear News, 24 Aug. 2026 Banks appeared in good spirits Monday, smiling with his lawyers, including Drew Findling, Christy O’Connor, and Brian Steel. — Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 24 Aug. 2026 As Piper writes, Blunt was spotted with Panettiere at the amfAR charity event in Cannes in 2009, and photographed smiling with her on a boat the next day. — Leigh Blickley, Entertainment Weekly, 24 Aug. 2026 The Beaver's Mini Mart mascot is a full beaver, unclothed, waving and smiling against a white background. — CBS News, 24 Aug. 2026 The Beaver’s Mini Mart mascot is a full beaver, unclothed, waving and smiling against a white background. — ABC News, 23 Aug. 2026 By the looks of it, the foundation didn’t move even through smiling, hugging, crying, and dancing. — Essence Wiley, InStyle, 20 Aug. 2026 So there sat Pecko on Tuesday afternoon atop a bench inside Dakin Park’s first-base dugout, smiling to hide nerves before the biggest day of his baseball life. — Chandler Rome, New York Times, 19 Aug. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for smiling

Adjective

The woman got up on their table and gleefully pretended to tap dance, drawing an amused crowd of onlookers.

— Alex Greenberger, ARTnews.com, 6 Aug. 2026
Hardin is more amused than annoyed, particularly given the origin of the FTD Burger.

— Bill Shaikin, Los Angeles Times, 26 June 2026

Definition of amused

Verb

But what differentiates them from some of their peers is the unyielding pace of their live shows, all of it delivered with the grinning joy of playing rock ‘n’ roll.

— Melissa Ruggieri, USA Today, 18 Aug. 2026
This plush captures its jolly mood with a big smile and a grinning sun across its belly (complete with sunglasses).

— Sian Babish, PEOPLE, 3 Aug. 2026

Definition of grinning

Adjective

These people are obviously crazy relaxing and being jovial like this.

— Dalton Ross, Entertainment Weekly, 17 Aug. 2026
He was known to be a jokester in the locker room, jovial but also smart enough to have played almost all five starting roles on an offensive line.

— PJ Green August 13, Kansas City Star, 13 Aug. 2026

Definition of jovial

Adjective

Rounding up his merry men of Sherwood Forest, and his Maid Marian (Olivia de Havilland), Robin goes about resisting John’s rule and securing Richard’s throne.

— Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 14 Aug. 2026
Fortune’s intrepid tech editor, Alexei Oreskovic, and his merry band of reporters will carry on in my absence.

— Andrew Nusca, Fortune, 7 Aug. 2026

Definition of merry

Adjective

The bikes were a smart and gleeful way to make the most of our limited time in South Lake Tahoe.

— Wendy Altschuler, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2026
Mitchell’s own imitation of Spielbergian life, despite its meticulous re-creation (and gleeful destruction) of eighties suburbia, stumbles into an uncanny valley between sincerity and cynicism, between unintentional comedy and deliberate homage.

— Justin Chang, New Yorker, 17 Aug. 2026

Definition of gleeful

Adjective

Both his suggestion and the jolly appreciation seem out of tune with the situation ‘far from home’, which may be a military manoeuvre involving mock battles and bayonet practice, or a preparation for actual combat.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 11 Aug. 2026
This plush captures its jolly mood with a big smile and a grinning sun across its belly (complete with sunglasses).

— Sian Babish, PEOPLE, 3 Aug. 2026

Definition of jolly

Adjective

Beyond Ningyocho station, cheap and cheerful izakaya sit next to longstanding kaiseki and sushi restaurants in heritage buildings, remnants of the era when this was Yoshicho, one of Tokyo's geisha quarters.

— Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 28 Aug. 2026
The fragrance is a delicious mix of sweet, fruity, and floral, thanks to notes of citrus, agave, and jasmine, offering a bright and cheerful scent to your space.

— Jessie Quinn, StyleCaster, 26 Aug. 2026

Definition of cheerful

Browse Nearby Words

smiles

smiling

smilingly

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“Smiling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/smiling. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of smiling

adjective

noun

verb

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