I. ˈsmīl, esp before pause or consonant -īəl verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English smilen; akin to Old English smerian to laugh at, Low German smilen to smile, obsolete Dutch smuilen, Old High German smierōn, Middle High German smielen, Swedish & Norwegian smila to smile, Latin mirus wonderful, mirari to wonder, wonder at, Greek meidian to smile, Tocharian A smi-, Sanskrit smayate he smiles
intransitive verb
1. : to have, produce, or exhibit a smile
by this time the infant … may even laugh or smile at his mother — H.R.Litchfield & L.H.Dembo
2.
a. : to look or regard with amusement, ridicule, contempt, or indulgence
smile indulgently at his quiddities
smiled at his own folly for engaging in such a business — Martin Gardner
b. : to look or seem to look with favor : bestow approval : be propitious
could hardly be blamed for feeling that Heaven smiled on his labors — Sheila Rowlands
circumstances happen to smile around him — Glenway Westcott
c. : to look or appear pleasant or agreeable : present a gay, sparkling, thriving, or benignant aspect
a lake, warm and smiling and margined with green trees and grass — American Guide Series: Oregon
transitive verb
1.
a. : to affect in some way with a smile or by a smile
smiling away her embarrassment — C.S.Forester
b. : to effect or accomplish by smiling
you thanked them and smiled your way out of it before you started crying yourself — Fred Majdalany
2. obsolete : to regard with disdain : hold in contempt
smile you my speeches, as I were a fool — Shakespeare
3. : to express by a smile
smiling his pleasure at the happy outcome — E.B.George
smiled a doubt as to their capacity — Irving Howe
4. : to form one's face into (a smile)
smiled a filial smile — Charles Dickens
II. noun
( -s )
1. : a change of facial expression involving a brightening of the eyes and an upward curving of the corners of the mouth with no sound and less muscular distortion of the features than in a laugh that may express amusement, pleasure, tender affection, approval, restrained mirth, irony, derision, or any of various other emotions
an infectious public smile — Time
the slight superior smile of the man who is sure that he has the future — O.W.Holmes †1935
wears a fixed smile on her made-up face — C.W.Mills
2. : a bright, pleasant, gratifying, or encouraging appearance or aspect
the smile of sunlit sea half a mile or so away — Blanche E. Baughan