Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word
simpering. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
simpering, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
simpering in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
simpering you have here. The definition of the word
simpering will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
simpering, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
English
Adjective
simpering (comparative more simpering, superlative most simpering)
- Affected, smug, and supercilious.
1926, Ernest Hemingway, The Sun Also Rises:I know they are supposed to be amusing, and you should be tolerant, but I wanted to swing on one, any one, anything to shatter that superior, simpering composure.
2004, David Mitchell, Cloud Atlas, London: Hodder and Stoughton, →ISBN:I had high hopes when I moved to Spyglass, but simpering gossip on celebrity parties seems to be the closest I've gotten so far to Dad's vocation.
2015, L. E. Modesitt, Jr, Madness in Solidar, →ISBN:That sounds almost simpering. I hate sounding simpering, and over a trifling increase of four coppers on a gold, I definitely do not wish to sound simpering.
Verb
simpering
- present participle and gerund of simper
Noun
simpering (plural simperings)
- The act of one who simpers.
1740, Samuel Richardson, Pamela; or, Virtue Rewarded:Well, but Polly attended, as I said; and there were strange simperings, and bowing, and courtesying, between them; the honest gentleman seeming not to know how to let his mistress wait upon him
See also
Anagrams