Synonyms of smiling

smiling 1 of 3

adjective

as in laughing

Related Words

• laughing
• amused
• jovial
• giggling
• chuckling
• merry
• gleeful
• jolly
• cheerful
• beaming
• mirthful
• cheery
• jocose
• carefree
• festive
• upbeat
• jocular
• blithe
• buoyant
• lighthearted
• sunny
• perky
• joyful
• chipper
• joking
• jubilant
• bouncing
• joyous
• vivacious
• exuberant
• spirited
• lively
• ecstatic
• jocund
• delighted
• enraptured
• jaunty
• animated
• blithesome
• gay
• exultant
• sprightly
• happy
• amusing
• radiant
• rapturous
• blissful
• peppy
• euphoric
• playful
• frisky
• funny
• witty
• hilarious
• blessed
• flippant
• bright
• elated
• optimistic
• overjoyed
• unconcerned
• facetious
• exhilarated
• lightsome
• thrilled
• easygoing
• tickled
• hopeful
• frolicsome
• entranced
• zippy
• sportive
• jesting
• rosy
• gladsome
• ravished
• sanguine
• joshing
• insouciant
• cavalier
• sprightful
• high
• humorous
• comic
• happy-go-lucky
• comical
• riotous
• antic
• uproarious
• farcical
• devil-may-care
• sidesplitting

Dissimilar Words

• crying
• sad
• blue
• unhappy
• depressed
• downcast
• sorrowful
• melancholy
• weeping
• anguished
• glum
• disconsolate
• dejected
• aggrieved
• forlorn
• despondent
• crestfallen
• abject
• wailing
• dispirited
• sobbing
• heartbroken
• saddened
• disheartened
• brokenhearted
• discontented
• disgruntled
• moody
• sorry
• mournful
• black
• plaintive
• heartsick
• gray
• doleful
• sullen
• downhearted
• dark
• moaning
• lugubrious
• gloomy
• somber
• heavyhearted
• low-spirited
• groaning
• joyless
• morose
• depressing
• bleak
• lachrymose
• woeful
• cheerless
• dolorous
• dismal
• desolate
• saturnine
• miserable
• dreary
• woebegone
• comfortless
• listless
• wretched
• lethargic
• sluggish
• dull
• torpid

smiling

2 of 3

noun

as in cheering

Related Words

• laughing
• cheering
• rejoicing
• exultation

Dissimilar Words

• tears
• keen
• groan
• wail
• howl
• moan
• lament
• lamentation
• cry
• plaint
• sob
• suffering
• weeping
• mourning
• sorrowing
• grieving
• agonizing

smiling

3 of 3

verb

present participle of smile

1

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• grinning
• laughing
• beaming
• sneering
• smirking
• simpering

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• grimacing
• frowning
• scowling
• glaring
• lowering
• glowering
• pouting
• sulking
• glooming

2

as in sneering

to express scornful amusement by means of facial contortions

smiled at their ridiculous antics and walked away in disgust

Synonyms & Similar Words

• laughing
• sneering
• snickering
• sniggering
• snorting
• sniffing
• jeering
• insulting
• ridiculing
• mocking
• deriding
• gibing
• hooting
• disdaining
• taunting
• despising
• teasing
• decrying
• disparaging
• belittling
• scoffing (at)
• scorning
• catcalling
• tormenting
• razzing
• riding
• heckling
• ribbing
• jiving
• bad-mouthing
• pooh-poohing
• putting down

Example Sentences

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

In the post, De Laurentiis shared an image of Jade, 18, sitting on her dorm bed holding Radiohead’s In Rainbows record and smiling. — Chiara Kim, PEOPLE, 31 Aug. 2026

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

The musicians were smiling, the spectators tapped and clapped, and that magical sense of timelessness was real, spanning multiple generations. — Steve Lopez, Los Angeles Times, 3 Oct. 2026

Machchhar, with one arm in a cast and medical dressings on his head, appears awake and smiling. — Tom Winter, NBC news, 3 Oct. 2026

One of the binders combines an advertisement for an MF DOOM album and a photograph by Cindy Sherman that shows the artist maniacally smiling while wearing a silvery mask. — Alex Greenberger, ARTnews.com, 30 Sep. 2026

Lowe wrote alongside a photo of his daughter smiling and wearing cowboy boots. — Stephen Sorace, FOXNews.com, 30 Sep. 2026

The school janitor emerged from a gap in the trees, smiling cheerfully. — Literary Hub, 28 Sep. 2026

Naples, Italy — When Louisa Nordstrom was growing up, the posters hanging in her bedroom didn’t portray pop stars or movie actors; instead, legendary British skipper Ben Ainslie was smiling from the wall, together with a dedicated autograph. — Stefano Pozzebon, CNN Money, 28 Sep. 2026

Stephens drew even more ire for celebrating on the field and then smiling on the bench — and for returning to the Trojans' sideline in the second half after being ejected. — ABC News, 27 Sep. 2026

The preview ends with a heart-swelling image of Osbourne smiling and squirming with joy in his throne. — Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 24 Sep. 2026