as in ingratiation
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Recent Examples of smarm
The movie’s entrancing and melancholy beauty feels old-fashioned in a contemporary animation world largely defined by clutter and smarm.
—
Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 31 May 2024
Oliver brings in Matthew Broderick, playing himself with exaggerated smarm, who effortlessly breezes through the patter song.
—Tim Greiving, Los Angeles Times, 28 May 2024
That barreling is assisted mightily by the two male characters in the narrative, who take turns maximizing smarm and misogyny.
—David John Chávez, The Mercury News, 13 Mar. 2024
Occasionally, these DMs teeter dangerously on the edge of smarm, like a small orange card, taped to a light pole, with a handwritten insistence:
But usually, whether ephemeral guerrilla art, stern warnings or idle musings, the messages have a similar effect.
—Dodai Stewart, New York Times, 26 June 2023
See All Example Sentences for smarm
Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 31 May 2024
Oliver brings in Matthew Broderick, playing himself with exaggerated smarm, who effortlessly breezes through the patter song.
—Tim Greiving, Los Angeles Times, 28 May 2024
That barreling is assisted mightily by the two male characters in the narrative, who take turns maximizing smarm and misogyny.
—David John Chávez, The Mercury News, 13 Mar. 2024
Occasionally, these DMs teeter dangerously on the edge of smarm, like a small orange card, taped to a light pole, with a handwritten insistence:
But usually, whether ephemeral guerrilla art, stern warnings or idle musings, the messages have a similar effect.
—Dodai Stewart, New York Times, 26 June 2023
See All Example Sentences for smarm
Recent Examples of Synonyms for smarm
Noun
-
Russian dissidents – most now either in jail or abroad – see Putin as a dictator who has built a brittle system of personal rule reliant on sycophancy and corruption that is leading Russia towards decline and turmoil.—
Reuters,
CNN Money,
4 May 2025
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Carro's paper suggests that obvious sycophancy significantly reduces user trust.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
21 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Preacher Lawson - Season 12 Preacher Lawson is a comedian whose energetic and relatable stand-up routines earned him high praise from the judges, with Mandel likening him to comedy legends like Richard Pryor and Eddie Murphy.—
Ryan Coleman,
EW.com,
27 May 2025
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Tsotsi was a huge hit with critics, with praise especially for Chweneyagae’s performance.—
Abid Rahman,
HollywoodReporter,
27 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Smarm.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/smarm. Accessed 3 Jun. 2025.
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