What does "smug" mean?
The smuggling trade.
Smug
/smʌɡ/ adj, noun, verb, slang
adj, noun, verb, slang ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: The smuggling trade.
- Grammar: smug is listed as adj, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: self-satisfied, arrogant, bland, boastful.
- Useful contrasts: humble, modest, unpretentious.
- Usage evidence: His smug behavior is offensive.
How to use "smug"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "smug" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "smug" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "smug" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "smug" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "smug" is acting as adj, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "self-satisfied" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "smug", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 The smuggling trade. obsolete, uncountable
"Have not they some term by which they distinguish the illicit trade? — They usually call it the Smug-pigeon."
Verb
- 1 To make smug, or spruce. obsolete, transitive
"Thus said, he smug'd his beard, and stroked up fair."
- 2 to adopt an offensively self-complacent expression. intransitive
"1899 Ambrose Bierce: Fantastic Fables. Hearing a sound of strife, a Christian in the Orient asked his Dragoman the cause of it. "The Buddhists are cutting Mohammedan throats," the Dragoman replied, with oriental composure. "I did not know," remarked the Christian, with scientific interest, "that that would make so much noise." "The Mohammedans are cutting Buddhist throats, too," added the Dragoman. "It is astonishing," mused the Christian, "how violent and how general are religious animosities. Everywhere in the world the devotees of each local faith abhor the devotees of every other, and abstain from murder only so long as they dare not commit it. And the strangest thing about it is that all religions are erroneous and mischievous excepting mine. Mine, thank God, is true and benign." So saying he visibly smugged and went off to telegraph for a brigade of cutthroats to protect Christian interests."
- 3 To seize; to confiscate. obsolete, slang, transitive
- 4 To hush up. obsolete, slang, transitive
Adjective
- 1 irritatingly pleased with oneself; offensively self-complacent, self-satisfied.
"Kate looked extremely smug this morning."
- 2 Showing smugness; showing self-complacency, self-satisfaction.
"a smug look on her face"
- 3 Studiously neat or nice, especially in dress; spruce; affectedly precise; smooth and prim. obsolete
"They be so smug and smooth."
Adjective
- 1 marked by excessive complacency or self-satisfaction wordnet
Antonyms
Example
"His smug behavior is offensive."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "smug"?
Common synonyms include: self-satisfied, arrogant, bland, boastful, bovine, braw.
How do you use "smug" in a sentence?
His smug behavior is offensive.
How do you pronounce "smug"?
Pronounced /smʌɡ/.
Etymology
Originally "spruce, neat," from Low German smuk (“pretty”), from Middle Low German smuk (“lithe, delicate, neat, trim”), although the g of the English word is not easily explained. The ultimate source should be Proto-West Germanic *smeugan (“to crawl, creep”). From the Low German derived also North Frisian smok, Danish smuk and Swedish smukk (now obsolete or dialectal). Compare also Middle High German gesmuc (“ornament”) and smücken (“to dress, to adorn”), both ultimately from smiegen (“to press to, insert, wrap, to nestle”), hence German schmiegen, Schmuck and schmücken. The adjective schmuck, however, was borrowed from Low German. See smock for more.