Ranked by relevance and common usage.
Keep "smarm" when the sentence already sounds natural, when a synonym would add unintended emphasis, or when readers need the most familiar wording. A synonym should clarify or sharpen the message, not simply make the sentence look more varied.
If two options seem close, choose the one that best matches the audience and purpose of the sentence.
Choose a synonym only if it keeps the core idea of "smarm" intact in the sentence you are editing.
Check whether the replacement sounds more formal, casual, emotional, technical, or forceful than the original word.
Read the full sentence after the swap. Keep the synonym only when the sentence becomes clearer or more precise.
Review note: Synonym lists are ranked with lexical data and reviewed for practical writing value. Use the comparison notes, sentence evidence, and source labels together; a high-ranking synonym can still be wrong when the audience, register, or grammar changes.
After choosing a replacement for "smarm", read the sentence once for meaning and once for rhythm. The best synonym should feel natural in the full sentence, not only accurate in a word list.
If the synonym makes the sentence slower, vaguer, or more dramatic than intended, keep "smarm" or choose a simpler alternative from the closest-match group.
OpenGloss and ConceptNet supply richer edges like generalizations, collocations, and derivations.
3 total sentences available.
Phil Hartman, the voice and soul of McClure, was the king of making everything sounds cheerful and positive, no matter how grim. McClure was the personification of smarm. He alone could say, “Your children are missing. I know because I murdered them with my own hands!” and make it sound like good news.
Source: wiktionary
"If you go to her and smarm her, it will be all right." "If I do what to her?" asked Mervyn, wondering what the operation of smarming might be. "Of course you don't know," laughed Aggie; "it is a school word. You explain what it means, Isabel." "To smarm," explained Isabel, "signifies to say 'yes ma'am,' or 'yes marm,' to a governess when she is rating you. It is ah expressive word, isn't it? It means 'to conciliate by assent;' that is the best definition that I can give of it." "Excellent word," said Mervyn. "Then. I am to smarm your mamma, am I, Aggie?["]
Source: wiktionary
He rose ... on his wife's fortune and judicious smarming of powerful people.
Source: wiktionary
Closest matches include bedaub, butter up, calculated charm, curry favor, dab.
Compare the replacement against real sentence context. This entry includes sample sentences so you can check tone, grammar, and meaning before swapping words.