as in smile
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Recent Examples of simper
Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 20 Feb. 2025
Today’s announcement marks the emergence of a new GE, a high-tech industrial GE — simper, stronger, a more focused company at the core.
—Jon Chesto, BostonGlobe.com, 26 June 2018
Al Capone lived as a schoolyard bully, died in a simper with a brain et by syphilis, and lives on through eternity as a cigarillo mascot and gimme film role for dark-haired white actors who want a chance to really chew some scenery.
—Paul Dailing, Chicago Reader, 21 Dec. 2017
Marley Marius, Vogue, 30 Apr. 2025
Franco is simpering when he wasn’t distracted, and while Hathaway brings a bit of spirit, most of her lines are only half-funny.
—Bill Wyman, Vulture, 28 Feb. 2025
There was Bhanu, the simpering do-nothing who was eventually put out of his misery but shouldn’t have been cast in the first place.
—Brian Moylan, Vulture, 23 May 2024
And Grant has made something of a second career out of playing charmingly louche rogues of late, smiling and simpering to perfection as the greedy backstabbing Forge.
—Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 31 Mar. 2023
Didn’t want to be a part of that simpering sorority, a keeper of that shameful secret (for so it was considered at the time), that failure.
—Alice McDermott, Harper's Magazine, 11 Sep. 2023
But Parker always meant to play the quietly cunning Southern belle as anything but simpering, describing the elder DuBois sister as a mental poker player.
—Helena Andrews-Dyer, Washington Post, 23 June 2023
Seated at a ceremonial desk in an airplane hangar, doling out portions of his kingdom to simpering Goneril (Gilmore) and Regan (Lane), this Lear wears the infuriating smirk of a glutton for praise.
—Peter Marks, Washington Post, 3 Mar. 2023
Judging by his simpering public appearances with Putin -- including one where Trump dissed his own US intelligence agencies -- these calls would be fascinating.
—Stephen Collinson, CNN, 16 Oct. 2019
Noun
Sandoval, in comparison, sneers and simpers to no success whatsoever; his bad behavior, on and off The Traitors, yields nothing.
—Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 20 Feb. 2025
Today’s announcement marks the emergence of a new GE, a high-tech industrial GE — simper, stronger, a more focused company at the core.
—Jon Chesto, BostonGlobe.com, 26 June 2018
Al Capone lived as a schoolyard bully, died in a simper with a brain et by syphilis, and lives on through eternity as a cigarillo mascot and gimme film role for dark-haired white actors who want a chance to really chew some scenery.
—Paul Dailing, Chicago Reader, 21 Dec. 2017
Verb
As divorce rates rose in the 1970s and 1980s, set off by the same shifting social mores that fueled Women’s Lib, Hollywood reacted in kind, trading simpering visions of American domesticity for lively portraits of familial distress.
—Marley Marius, Vogue, 30 Apr. 2025
Franco is simpering when he wasn’t distracted, and while Hathaway brings a bit of spirit, most of her lines are only half-funny.
—Bill Wyman, Vulture, 28 Feb. 2025
There was Bhanu, the simpering do-nothing who was eventually put out of his misery but shouldn’t have been cast in the first place.
—Brian Moylan, Vulture, 23 May 2024
And Grant has made something of a second career out of playing charmingly louche rogues of late, smiling and simpering to perfection as the greedy backstabbing Forge.
—Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 31 Mar. 2023
Didn’t want to be a part of that simpering sorority, a keeper of that shameful secret (for so it was considered at the time), that failure.
—Alice McDermott, Harper's Magazine, 11 Sep. 2023
But Parker always meant to play the quietly cunning Southern belle as anything but simpering, describing the elder DuBois sister as a mental poker player.
—Helena Andrews-Dyer, Washington Post, 23 June 2023
Seated at a ceremonial desk in an airplane hangar, doling out portions of his kingdom to simpering Goneril (Gilmore) and Regan (Lane), this Lear wears the infuriating smirk of a glutton for praise.
—Peter Marks, Washington Post, 3 Mar. 2023
Judging by his simpering public appearances with Putin -- including one where Trump dissed his own US intelligence agencies -- these calls would be fascinating.
—Stephen Collinson, CNN, 16 Oct. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for simper
Noun
-
Some passengers can be heard humming or singing along, while others look back at her with a smile on their face.—
Rachael O'Connor,
MSNBC Newsweek,
29 May 2025
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Meanwhile, Van Halen, now 34, has a less-enthused smile on his face and is wearing an orange frock and feather-topped hat.—
Staff Author,
People.com,
28 May 2025
Verb
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Are the locals quietly laughing at us behind our backs?—
James Fallon,
Footwear News,
24 May 2025
-
What if automatic password hacking machines laugh in the face of your security efforts?—
Davey Winder,
Forbes.com,
24 May 2025
Noun
-
Neville can barely talk about success — his and his team’s — without breaking into a grin and marveling at how much better things are not just for him, but for them.—
Lindsay Schnell,
New York Times,
29 May 2025
-
Just look at those big floppy ears and toothy grin, those Tasmanian Devil-meets-Hula dancer moves, and try to keep a straight face.—
Barry Levitt,
Time,
21 May 2025
Noun
-
Aimee Lou Wood, who played Chelsea, couldn’t believe the attention on her toothy smirk.—
Brittany Talarico,
People.com,
21 Apr. 2025
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In group settings, Edelman was good for a clip on the local news, making a wry joke about his own passing abilities, the opposing team or Brady with a smirk on his face.—
Doug Kyed,
Boston Herald,
6 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Simper.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/simper. Accessed 4 Jun. 2025.
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