smug

Preposition: in

knowledge: I got on with riding my bike, safe and smug in the knowledge that I'd done my bit.

Adjective complement with noun phrase

feel: Difficult not to feel a wee bit smug really!

Modifies a noun

• self-satisfaction: We look down on them with an air of smug self-satisfaction.
• grin: Fact is, I'd probably have a smug grin on my face wherever I happened to drive it.
• git: Perhaps they all realized what a smug git Campbell is.
• complacency: The smug complacency displayed in the recent Budget was therefore understandable up to a point.
• superiority: The smug superiority in their glances can't be bettered.
• smile: With a smug smile, Jack then placed the glass in the freezer.

Modifying Another Word

• insufferably: The old man beamed at him, looking insufferably smug.
• slightly: You'll also find that the people in here sport slightly smug 'look what we found ' looks on their faces.
• rather: We know the rather smug legend of Caine never being able to resist an offer or a check.
• too: My problem now, is trying not to look too smug... .
• pretty: I went to sleep feeling pretty smug, thinking I was some kind of Davy Crockett.
• quite: I'm not only proud of that, I'm quite smug about it!

Used with adjective complement

• feel: Feeling smug, having posted my blog, I raised the mug to my lips.
• look: My problem now, is trying not to look too smug... .
• sound: Muir Russell: You will trap me into sounding very smug.
• become: It is, of course, too early to become smug about these commitments.
• get: This is a lesson of why to never get smug... .
• appear: Not wishing to appear smug, some of us were able to enjoy the last recital feeling less damp than others!