Spelling.School · How to spell

How to spell smug

What it means: Self-satisfied or complacent.

In a sentence: The cat looked smug after catching the toy mouse. ▶

The part people get wrong

Often misspelled as smugg or smuge.

Same family: smugly, smugness, arrogant, self-satisfied, conceited. If you can spell one, the shared part carries to the others.

Where it comes from: “Smug” likely comes from a Middle Low German word meaning “trim” or “neat,” and over time the idea of being overly neat or pleased with oneself shifted into the modern sense of being self-satisfied or conceited.

Try spelling it

You will hear the word and a sentence. Type it and press Enter. Then four more words from the same level, so you know where you stand.

Words like this

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