Smugness is an annoying kind of satisfaction where someone feels superior and wants others to know it. A smug person doesn't just feel good about themselves, they're pleased in a way that puts others down or makes them feel small.

Picture a student who finishes a test early and sits back with a self-satisfied smirk, making sure everyone sees how easy it was for them. Or imagine someone who interrupts to correct minor mistakes, not to be helpful but to show off how much they know. That's smugness: pride mixed with an unpleasant sense that you're better than the people around you.

Today, smug describes that irritating combination of self-satisfaction and superiority. A smug expression might include a slight smile and raised eyebrows that seem to say, “I told you so” or “I'm better than you.”

What makes smugness different from ordinary pride? Pride means feeling good about real accomplishments. Smugness means feeling superior in a way that dismisses or belittles others. Someone can be proud without being smug, but smugness always includes that unpleasant sense of superiority.