smug

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

They’re insincere and elitist and out of touch and smug in many respects, from the perspective of a young man.

From Slate • Mar. 25, 2026

Volker Beck, president of the German-Israeli Society, labelled Steinmeier's comments on the war "grossly inappropriate" and said they displayed a "smug know-it-all attitude".

From Barron's • Mar. 24, 2026

Michael, a long-haired Vietnam-era peacenik as the informed and occasionally smug voice of logic, earned that brand from Archie simply by being.

From Salon • Dec. 21, 2025

Cubicle dwellers at a Texas software company endure everyday corporate indignities, including paper jams and smug bosses asking if they got the memo about cover sheets for the TPS reports.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 29, 2025

She looked at Khione’s smug expression and she realized the goddess was hoping for that.

From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan