as in smiled
to express an emotion (as amusement) by curving the lips upward
grinned at the kids' fooling around in the pool
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Recent Examples of grinned
Assaidi, who grinned widely as he was led out of an NYPD stationhouse on his way to court for his arraignment, did not have any prior arrests, police said.
—
Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, FOXNews.com, 24 Apr. 2026
As the others grinned and grimaced at their rivals’ responses, Becerra was as stone-faced as Buster Keaton.
—Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 23 Apr. 2026
With that, Wedgewood leaned into the microphone and grinned.
—Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 20 Apr. 2026
Haight, 22, grinned wide as teammates celebrated with him along the boards after his first goal, which came in the ninth game of his rookie campaign.
—Oc Register, 15 Apr. 2026
In response to the King’s pat on the cheek, Louis grinned at his grandfather.
—Rachel Burchfield, InStyle, 6 Apr. 2026
Swift flashed her old mine brilliant cut ring to the camera while Kelce grinned wide.
—Bryan West, USA Today, 27 Mar. 2026
Asked about the fake out, Mara grinned.
—Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 21 Mar. 2026
Raúl grinned and told us to punch him.
—Literary Hub, 16 Mar. 2026
Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, FOXNews.com, 24 Apr. 2026
As the others grinned and grimaced at their rivals’ responses, Becerra was as stone-faced as Buster Keaton.
—Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 23 Apr. 2026
With that, Wedgewood leaned into the microphone and grinned.
—Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 20 Apr. 2026
Haight, 22, grinned wide as teammates celebrated with him along the boards after his first goal, which came in the ninth game of his rookie campaign.
—Oc Register, 15 Apr. 2026
In response to the King’s pat on the cheek, Louis grinned at his grandfather.
—Rachel Burchfield, InStyle, 6 Apr. 2026
Swift flashed her old mine brilliant cut ring to the camera while Kelce grinned wide.
—Bryan West, USA Today, 27 Mar. 2026
Asked about the fake out, Mara grinned.
—Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 21 Mar. 2026
Raúl grinned and told us to punch him.
—Literary Hub, 16 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for grinned
Verb
-
Jones smiled when told about the comparison to Zedak.—
Tony Baranek,
Chicago Tribune,
27 Apr. 2026
-
On reflection a little while later, Mikel Arteta smiled dryly.—
Amy Lawrence,
New York Times,
26 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
As the crowd laughed and Ross blew a kiss in Kraft’s direction, Brady could be seen shifting in his seat behind and to the right of the comedian.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
29 Apr. 2026
-
Schuman fell off his bike at one point, and the boy laughed at him.—
Angie DiMichele,
Sun Sentinel,
27 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Grinned.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/grinned. Accessed 2 May. 2026.
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