---
title: smirk — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «smirk» in the school dictionary: To smirk is to smile in a smug, silly or unkind way, often because you think you are cleverer than someone or are pleased about their bad luck. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# smirk

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** you, smirk, bully, I, she, Wipe · **What happens:** smirk, be, think, drop, tell, say · **To what, where:** smug way, smile, books, you, face, door · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
«smirk» in the school dictionary: its 2 meanings for a pupil and its 8 examples, every sentence parsed by Mova itself — its syntax tree, a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies, and its pragmatics clause by clause. The word in the dictionary, with its sense in the lessons: [smirk in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/smirk.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To smirk is to smile in a smug, silly or unkind way, often because you think you are cleverer than someone or are pleased about their bad luck.

<!-- fold The tree, 28 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:smirk:m1:1
# text = To smirk is to smile in a smug, silly or unkind way, often because you think you are cleverer than someone or are pleased about their bad luck.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	smirk	smirk	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	csubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
4	to	to	PART	TO	_	5	mark	_	_
5	smile	smile	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
6	in	in	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
7	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
8	smug	smug	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	13	amod	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	10	punct	_	_
10	silly	silly	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	conj	_	_
11	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	12	cc	_	_
12	unkind	unkind	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	conj	_	_
13	way	way	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	18	punct	_	_
15	often	often	ADV	RB	_	18	advmod	_	_
16	because	because	SCONJ	IN	_	18	mark	_	_
17	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	18	nsubj	_	_
18	think	think	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=2|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	parataxis	_	_
19	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	21	nsubj	_	_
20	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=2|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	21	cop	_	_
21	cleverer	clever	ADJ	JJR	Degree=Cmp	18	ccomp	_	_
22	than	than	ADP	IN	_	23	case	_	_
23	someone	someone	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	21	obl	_	_
24	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	26	cc	_	_
25	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=2|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	26	cop	_	_
26	pleased	pleased	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	21	conj	_	_
27	about	about	ADP	IN	_	30	case	_	_
28	their	their	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	30	nmod:poss	_	_
29	bad	bad	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	30	amod	_	_
30	luck	luck	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	26	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
31	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **smirk** | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn nonverbal\_expression-40.2 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **is** | present |  |  |  | a smug way |  | smile *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **think** *speech: other* | present | you |  |  |  |  | often *property* | vn focus-87.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 4 | **is** | present | you |  |  |  |  | than someone; clever *property* | tree rules |
| 5 | **is** | present | you *not said here* |  |  |  |  | about their bad luck; pleased *property* | tree rules |

<!-- .note -->
One row per clause the reader finds. «not said here»: a role filled from the clause above. «roles by»: a VerbNet class and frame when one fits the verb, else the reader's rules on the tree.

## Meaning 2 {#m2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A smirk is a smile like that.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:smirk:m2:1
# text = A smirk is a smile like that.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	smirk	smirk	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	smile	smile	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
6	like	like	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	that	that	PRON	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	5	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a smirk | a smile |  |  |  | like that | tree rules |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The bully smirked when I dropped my books.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:smirk:x1:1
# text = The bully smirked when I dropped my books.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	bully	bully	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	smirked	smirk	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	when	when	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	6	advmod	_	_
5	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	6	nsubj	_	_
6	dropped	drop	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	advcl	_	_
7	my	my	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	8	nmod:poss	_	_
8	books	book	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **smirk** | past | the bully |  |  |  |  |  | vn nonverbal\_expression-40.2 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **drop** | past | I | my books |  |  |  |  | vn put\_direction-9.4 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent book=Theme |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
«I told you so,» she said with a smirk.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:smirk:x2:1
# text = «I told you so,» she said with a smirk.
1	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	3	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
3	told	tell	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	9	ccomp	_	_
4	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Person=2|PronType=Prs	3	iobj	_	_
5	so	so	ADV	RB	_	3	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	3	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	3	punct	_	_
8	she	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	9	nsubj	_	_
9	said	say	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
10	with	with	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
11	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
12	smirk	smirk	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	9	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **tell** *speech: assert* *in a quote* | past | I |  | you |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent you=Recipient |
| 2 | **say** *speech: assert* | past | she |  |  |  |  | with a smirk | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Wipe that smirk off your face and say sorry.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:smirk:x3:1
# text = Wipe that smirk off your face and say sorry.
1	Wipe	wipe	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
2	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	3	nsubj	_	_
3	smirk	smirk	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	1	acl:relcl	_	_
4	off	off	ADP	RP	_	3	compound:prt	_	_
5	your	your	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Person=2|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	6	nmod:poss	_	_
6	face	face	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
7	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	8	cc	_	_
8	say	say	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	conj	_	_
9	sorry	sorry	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **smirk off** | present | Wipe | your face |  |  |  |  | vn nonverbal\_expression-40.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent face=Theme |
| 2 | **say** *speech: apologize* | infinitive | Wipe *not said here* |  |  |  |  | sorry *property* | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The villain smirked as he locked the door.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:smirk:x4:1
# text = The villain smirked as he locked the door.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	villain	villain	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	smirked	smirk	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	as	as	SCONJ	IN	_	6	mark	_	_
5	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	6	nsubj	_	_
6	locked	lock	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	ccomp	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	door	door	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **smirk** | past | the villain |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **lock** | past | villain | the door |  |  |  |  | vn tape-22.4 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent door=Patient |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He tried not to smirk when the teacher got the answer wrong.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:smirk:x5:1
# text = He tried not to smirk when the teacher got the answer wrong.
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	tried	try	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	5	advmod	_	_
4	to	to	PART	TO	_	5	mark	_	_
5	smirk	smirk	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	xcomp	_	_
6	when	when	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	9	advmod	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	teacher	teacher	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	nsubj	_	_
9	got	get	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	advcl	_	_
10	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	answer	answer	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obj	_	_
12	wrong	wrong	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **try** | past | He |  |  |  |  |  | vn try-61.1 «NP V S\_INF»: agent=Agent clause=Eventuality |
| 2 | **not** **smirk** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive | He *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn nonverbal\_expression-40.2 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **get** | past | the teacher | the answer |  |  |  | wrong *property* | vn comprehend-87.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer answer=Stimulus |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
There was a little smirk on the cat's face after it stole the fish.

<!-- fold The tree, 15 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:smirk:x6:1
# text = There was a little smirk on the cat's face after it stole the fish.
1	There	there	PRON	EX	PronType=Dem	2	expl	_	_
2	was	be	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	little	little	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	smirk	smirk	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
6	on	on	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	cat	cat	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	's	's	PART	POS	_	8	case	_	_
10	face	face	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	_
11	after	after	SCONJ	IN	_	13	mark	_	_
12	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	13	nsubj	_	_
13	stole	steal	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	2	advcl	_	_
14	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	15	det	_	_
15	fish	fish	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **be** | past | a little smirk |  |  | the cat's face; there |  |  | vn exist-47.1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme on face=Location |
| 2 | **steal** | past | smirk | the fish |  |  |  |  | vn appear-48.1.1 «PP.location V NP»: agent=Location fish=Theme |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Her smirk showed she knew the secret.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:smirk:x7:1
# text = Her smirk showed she knew the secret.
1	Her	her	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	2	nmod:poss	_	_
2	smirk	smirk	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	showed	show	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	she	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	5	nsubj	_	_
5	knew	know	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	ccomp	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	secret	secret	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **show** | past | Her smirk |  |  |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V how S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **know** | past | smirk | the secret |  |  |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1-1 «NP V NP PP.attribute»: agent=Experiencer secret=Stimulus |
| 3 | **smirk** |  | Her *= she* |  |  |  |  |  | nom smirk «communication intransitive»: poss=agent |

## Example 8 {#x8}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
They smirked at each other and rubbed their hands.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:smirk:x8:1
# text = They smirked at each other and rubbed their hands.
1	They	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	smirked	smirk	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	at	at	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
4	each	each	DET	DT	ExtPos=PRON|PronType=Rcp	2	obl	_	_
5	other	other	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	fixed	_	_
6	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	7	cc	_	_
7	rubbed	rub	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	2	conj	_	_
8	their	their	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	9	nmod:poss	_	_
9	hands	hand	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **smirk** | past | They |  |  | each |  |  | vn nonverbal\_expression-40.2 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **rub** | past | They *not said here* | their hands |  |  |  |  | vn spray-9.7-1 «NP V NP.theme»: agent=Agent hand=Theme |

<!-- div src -->

**Text:** the school dictionary of Mova's schools (`world/data/dictionary-schools/`), written for Mova. **Trees:** Mova's own parse — the `en` model on the CPU, when the site is built — not checked by a teacher; they may be wrong. **Frames:** Mova's frames reader (`prag`), each meaning and example read on its own. Elamur Cosmic License.

<!-- /div -->

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