Library / English Dictionary

SMILE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

A facial expression characterized by turning up the corners of the mouth; usually shows pleasure or amusement

Synonyms:

grin; grinning; smile; smiling

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Hypernyms ("smile" is a kind of...):

facial expression; facial gesture (a gesture executed with the facial muscles)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "smile"):

simper (a silly self-conscious smile)

smirk (a smile expressing smugness or scorn instead of pleasure)

Derivation:

smile (change one's facial expression by spreading the lips, often to signal pleasure)

smile (express with a smile)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Change one's facial expression by spreading the lips, often to signal pleasure

Classified under:

Verbs of grooming, dressing and bodily care

Hypernyms (to "smile" is one way to...):

grimace; make a face; pull a face (contort the face to indicate a certain mental or emotional state)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "smile"):

dimple (produce dimples while smiling)

grin (to draw back the lips and reveal the teeth, in a smile, grimace, or snarl)

beam (smile radiantly; express joy through one's facial expression)

simper; smirk (smile affectedly or derisively)

sneer (smile contemptuously)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s PP

Derivation:

smile (a facial expression characterized by turning up the corners of the mouth; usually shows pleasure or amusement)

smiler (the human face ('kisser' and 'smiler' and 'mug' are informal terms for 'face' and 'phiz' is British))

smiler (a person who smiles)

smiling (a facial expression characterized by turning up the corners of the mouth; usually shows pleasure or amusement)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Express with a smile

Example:

She smiled her thanks

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "smile" is one way to...):

evince; express; show (give expression to)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s something to somebody

Derivation:

smile (a facial expression characterized by turning up the corners of the mouth; usually shows pleasure or amusement)

smiler (a person who smiles)

Credits

 Context examples: 

"None that I ever heard of," returned Mrs. Fairfax, smiling.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

Henry smiled, and said, “How very little trouble it can give you to understand the motive of other people's actions.”

(Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen)

They would smile, twinkle their eyes, shake their heads, and there was the end of it.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Holmes smiled as he turned up an entry in his note-book.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Her sympathy was ours; her smile, her soft voice, the sweet glance of her celestial eyes, were ever there to bless and animate us.

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)

“That is just what I was about to venture to propose,” returned the doctor with a smile.

(The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

“Quite right! Quite right!” said the Prince, with a good-natured smile, patting me in a friendly way upon the shoulder.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

“Your life is in my hands!” cried Tranter, with a bitter smile.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Any problem that affects your mouth can make it hard to eat, drink or even smile.

(Mouth Disorders, NIH)

“Well, my boy, what do you make of this lot?” he asked, smiling at my expression.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)