INDEX:
1. to smile
2. to smile in an unpleasant way
3. a smile
RELATED WORDS
see also
↑ LAUGH
↑ HAPPY
↑ FUNNY
↑ FRIENDLY
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1. to smile
▷ smile /smaɪl/ [intransitive verb]
to make your mouth curve upwards, as a sign that you are happy or amused or that you want to be friendly :
▪ She smiled and said, ‘Good morning.’
▪ Kathy couldn’t help smiling as the children came back into the room.
▪ ‘Stop worrying, you look very nice,’ she smiled reassuringly. said with a smile
▪ My father rarely smiled.
smile at
▪ The twins turned and smiled at each other, sharing a private joke.
▪ He winked, and she smiled back at him.
smile broadly
smile with your mouth very wide
▪ She smiled broadly when her name was called.
make somebody smile
▪ He can make people smile just by walking into a room.
smiling [adjective only before noun]
▪ The road was lined with smiling school children.
▷ grin /grɪn/ [intransitive verb]
to give a big happy smile :
▪ Grinning shyly, he offered her a drink.
▪ ‘I’ve been a complete idiot’, grinned Ian. said with a grin
grin broadly
grin with your mouth very wide
▪ She sat back down again, grinning broadly.
grin at
▪ She kept grinning at me as if we were old friends.
grin from ear to ear
informal to grin a lot because you are very happy
▪ She was holding the baby, and grinning from ear to ear.
▷ beam /biːm/ [intransitive verb]
to smile for a long time, especially because you are very pleased about or proud of something or someone :
▪ Her parents stood there beaming as she went up to receive the prize.
beam at
▪ After the song was over, Miss Timms beamed at the class.
beam with pleasure/pride etc
▪ Daddy sat in the first pew, beaming with pride.
▪ Just a short time before, they had been beaming with optimism.
▷ somebody’s face lights up / somebodyˈs ˌfeɪs laɪts ˈʌp/
if someone’s face lights up, they suddenly look happy, for example because they have received some good news :
▪ He gave her the letter and watched as her face lit up.
▪ The moment she walked into the room, Bob’s face lit up.
▷ break into a smile/grin /ˌbreɪk ɪntʊ ə ˈsmaɪl, ˈgrɪn/ [verb phrase]
to suddenly start smiling :
▪ All at once she broke into a smile as she remembered what had happened.
▪ She broke into a grin, and started to run towards me.
▪ ‘We’re going to have a visitor,’ said her mother, and Anna’s face broke into a smile at the thought.
▷ be all smiles /biː ˌɔːl ˈsmaɪlz/ [verb phrase]
to be very happy, smile a lot, and be friendly toward other people, especially because a situation is the way you want it :
▪ I don’t understand it -- he was all smiles this morning and now he won’t talk to me.
▷ force a smile /ˌfɔːʳs ə ˈsmaɪl/ [verb phrase]
to try hard to smile when you do not feel happy :
▪ ‘I’m getting married,’ he said. Somehow I managed to force a smile.
▪ Alice forced a smile, hoping it looked natural.
2. to smile in an unpleasant way
▷ smirk /smɜːʳk/ [intransitive verb]
to smile in an unpleasant way, for example because you are pleased about someone else’s bad luck or because you know something that they do not know :
▪ She sits there smirking as if she’s the only one who knows the answer.
▪ ‘You realise you’ll be stuck out here on your own, don’t you?’ he smirked. said with a smirk
smirk at
▪ What are you smirking at?
▷ leer /lɪəʳ/ [intransitive verb]
to smile in a way that is unpleasant or threatening and that shows unwelcome sexual interest in someone :
▪ The man with the gold tooth leered and slapped his hand on her knee.
leer at
▪ My boss was a disgusting man who used to leer at me whenever he passed by my desk.
▷ sneer /snɪəʳ/ [intransitive verb]
to smile in an unpleasant and offensive way that shows you think someone is stupid or less good than you :
▪ As she read the letter, she started to sneer.
▪ Some clients would sneer or smile sarcastically when I showed them my old laptop -- until they saw what it could do.
sneer at
▪ She’d not forgotten how Gareth had laughed and sneered at them when they’d first tried to be friendly.
3. a smile
▷ smile /smaɪl/ [countable noun]
the look on your face when you make your mouth curve upwards to show that you are happy, friendly, amused etc :
▪ Helga has a lovely smile.
▪ Johnny’s broad smile changed slowly to a frown.
▪ ‘Hi,’ said Sophie, with the most radiant smile I have ever seen.
break into a smile
to suddenly start smiling
▪ She clapped her hands and broke into one of her huge smiles.
give somebody a smile
smile at them
▪ Barry gave the old lady a warm smile.
with a smile on your face
▪ He fell asleep with a contented smile on his face.
have a smile on your face
▪ She’s really happy for me; she has a big smile on her face.
▷ grin /grɪn/ [countable noun]
a big happy smile :
▪ Her face broke into a delighted grin.
▪ Joel gave her a wicked grin.
▪ The television camera captured his sheepish grin as he stepped from the train.
give somebody a grin
grin at them
▪ William gave her a friendly grin as he walked past.
▷ smirk /smɜːʳk/ [countable noun]
an unpleasant, satisfied smile, for example when you are pleased about someone else’s bad luck or when you think you know something that they do not know :
▪ Penny’s lips curved in a superior smirk as he rushed from the room.
▷ leer /lɪəʳ/ [countable noun]
an unpleasant or threatening smile, showing an unwelcome sexual interest in someone :
▪ He leaned over the girl with a leer and she could smell the whisky on his breath.
▪ The look on my cousin’s face changed from its usual cocky leer to one of complete bewilderment.
▷ sneer /snɪəʳ/ [countable noun]
an unpleasant, offensive smile, that shows that you think that someone is stupid or that you are better than them :
▪ ‘And what’s your name?’ he demanded, his lip curling into a sneer.