student asking question

What does “being smug” mean?

teacher

Native speaker’s answer

Rebecca

"Smug" means to be very prideful, full of oneself, believing you are superior to others. Smug is considered a negative trait and an insult if someone were to call you "smug." If you decide to use this word, be careful because you could really offend someone. Here are a couple of examples of "smug" being used. Ex: He is so smug. He thinks he is better than anyone else. Ex: I hate how smug she can be. Thanks for the great question!

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