(Discover even more words in The Writer’s Body Lexicon.)

An unknown author once said that everyone smiles in the same language.

An encouraging smile might comfort a mourner or urge a child to take a first step. A scornful smile might raise the dander of a political opponent or irritate a romantic rival. A lecherous smile could alienate a prospective love interest.

This post presents ways to include meaningful smiles in prose and poetry.

Emotion Beats and Physical Manifestations

Smiles don’t always indicate joy, so there’s nothing wrong with describing a smile as joyous or happy. People sometimes shed tears when they’re happy and smile when they’re not. Many emotions can cause a smile, including the following.

A to W
approval, arrogance, attentiveness, cheerfulness, contempt, contentment, derision, enthusiasm, euphoria, flirtatiousness, happiness, hostility, joy, optimism, playfulness, pride, scorn, shyness, sincerity, smugness, timidity, worry

The quickest and laziest way to tell readers about a character’s state of mind is to include a phrase such as derisive smile. However, you can just as quickly create point-of-view problems by doing so:

Alicia’s derisive smile filled me with anger.

How does the POV character know that Alicia is expressing derision? Maybe she’s trying to be nice, but her stiletto heels are blistering her feet. Context, including appropriate body language, should provide details that support the narrator’s interpretation of Alicia’s mental state.

The previously mentioned emotions could be expressed in many ways. Here are a few.

Approval
high-five
tilting one’s head to bare the neck
mirroring another person’s body language

Arrogance
assertive voice
upturned nose
puffed-out chest

Attentiveness
maintaining eye contact
placing a finger on one’s temple
angling entire body, including toes, toward the object of attention

Cheerfulness
head held high
bouncy step
whistling

Contempt
pinched mouth
wrinkled nose
curled upper lip

Contentment
shoulders held back
head held high
clapping another character on the back

Derision
bullying
flared nostrils
sarcastic remarks

Enthusiasm
boisterous voice
pumping arms
sparkling eyes

Euphoria
glowing face
puffed-out chest
face turned toward sky, perhaps while standing with outstretched arms

Flirtatiousness
fluttering eyelashes
open mouth with tip of tongue showing
head turned away or slightly downturned while character maintains eye contact

Happiness
humming or singing
both hands placed over chest
arms swinging while walking

Hostility
bulging eyes
clenched jaw
rigid cords in neck

Joy
wide eyes
happy tears
pronounced dimples in cheeks

Optimism
crossing one’s fingers
enthusiastic chitchat
standing akimbo, head held high

Playfulness
gentle teasing
making funny faces
good-natured nudging with an elbow or shoulder

Pride in oneself
elevating chin
maintaining eye contact
holding one’s head high or tilting it back

Pride in someone else
moist eyes
adoring gaze
tears trickling down one’s face

Scorn
exhaling with a pfft sound
rigid face, orange-peel texture of chin
cocking one eyebrow, and accompanying it with a smirk or sneer

Shyness
biting nails
minimal eye contact
playing with one’s hair or mustache

Sincerity
open gaze
palms up or open
placing one’s hand on one’s heart (sometimes done on purpose to fake sincerity)

Smugness
arched eyebrows
lifting the chin and exposing one’s neck
sitting with one’s legs spread wide (usually male)

Timidity
bowing one’s head
biting one’s lip
fidgeting with one’s clothing, jewelry, etc.

Worry
pale face
dark circles under the eyes
massaging one’s eyebrows or forehead

If you need additional beats, consult a body language dictionary. (As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.)

Adjectives

As explained in the previous section, some adjectives express opinions that muddle POV. Approach with caution.

A
abrupt, acidulous, affected, affectionate, agreeable, airy, all-knowing, alluring, aloof, amazing, ambiguous, ambrosial, amiable, amused, angelic, angry, answering, antiseptic, anxious, apologetic, appreciative, approving, ardent, arrogant, artificial, attentive, awkward

B
backward, baleful, bashful, beaming, beatific, beautiful, beguiling, bemused, benevolent, benign, benignant, best, big, bitter, bittersweet, bland, blank, bleak, blissful, blithe, bombastic, bone-chilling, boundless, boyish, brave, breezy, brief, bright, brilliant, brittle, broad, brutal, buoyant, businesslike

C
calm, carefree, casual, cautious, cheerful, cheesy, cherubic, childlike, clear, clenched, cockeyed, cocky, cold, comfortable, complacent, conceited, conciliatory, condescending, confident, congenial, congratulatory, conscious, conspiratorial, contagious, contemptuous, contented, convenient, coquettish, cordial, corrugated, counterfeit, courageous, courteous, covert, coy, crafty, crazed, crooked, cryptic, cunning, curdled, curious, cynical

D and E
daffy, dangerous, dark, deadly, debonair, deep, deferential, defiant, delightful, deprecating, derisive, devilish, diabolical, dim, disdainful, distant, distorted, doubtful, drowsy, drunken, dubious, eager, easy, ecstatic, egotistical, electric, elusive, empathetic, empty, encouraging, endless, enigmatic, enormous, enthusiastic, envious, euphoric, evil, excited, expectant, exultant

F
facile, faded, faint, fake, false, faraway, fascinating, fat, fatherly, fatuous, fawning, feeble, feral, fierce, fitful, flashy, flattering, fleeting, flippant, flirtatious, fond, foolish, forced, formal, frank, frigid, furtive

G
gargantuan, garish, gentle, genuine, ghastly, giddy, gigantic, girlish, glacial, glib, glowing, good-natured, goofy, gracious, grateful, gratuitous, grave, greasy, grim, grotesque, groveling, grudging, guilty, gummy

H
habitual, half-hearted, handsome, happy, hasty, haughty, hearty, heavenly, hesitant, hideous, high-voltage, hollow, honest, hopeful, hospitable, hostile, huge, humorless, hungry, hypocritical

I
icy, idiotic, immutable, impersonal, impish, imploring, impudent, inane, incandescent, incisive, incorrigible, incredulous, indifferent, indolent, indomitable, indulgent, infantile, infectious, inflexible, ingratiating, innocent, inscrutable, insincere, insipid, insolent, intolerable, inviting, involuntary, ironic, ironical, irrepressible, irresistible, irreverent

J to L
jaunty, jeering, jejune, jovial, joyless, joyous, jubilant, kind, knowing, languid, languorous, lazy, lecherous, lethargic, lewd, lifeless, listless, little, little-boy, little-girl, lofty, long-suffering, loose, lopsided, loutish, lovely, loving, luminous, lurid

M
magical, magnetic, majestic, malevolent, malicious, malignant, maternal, meaning, mechanical, meek, melancholy, mellow, meretricious, merry, metallic, mirthless, mischievous, mocking, modest, Mona Lisa, morose, motherly, mournful, murderous, mysterious

N and O
naked, narrow, nasty, natural, naughty, nauseating, nervous, nonchalant, noncommittal, obligatory, oblivious, obnoxious, obsequious, ominous, open, optimistic

P
pained, parting, passing, paternal, pathetic, patient, patronizing, peaceful, peculiar, peerless, pensive, perennial, perfunctory, permanent, pert, phony, pitiful, pitying, placid, plastic, playful, polished, polite, pompous, portentous, posed, practiced, predatory, preoccupied, prim, primal, professional, proper, proud, provocative

Q and R
quaint, quick, quiet, quirky, quizzical, radiant, rapacious, rapid, rare, rascally, ravishing, ready, reassuring, refined, regal, regretful, religious, reluctant, resolute, respectful, responding, restless, restrained, rictus, ridiculous, rigid, roguish, rueful, rustic, ruthless

S
sad, sadistic, sagacious, saintly, sarcastic, sardonic, satirical, saturnine, saucy, scornful, secretive, seductive, self-absorbed, self-righteous, sensuous, serene, severe, sexy, shadowy, shaky, shamefaced, sheepish, shifty, shy, sickly, sidelong, silly, simulated, sincere, sinister, skeptical, sleepy, slight, slimy, sloppy, slow, sly, small, smarmy, smug, soft, solicitous, somber, sour, sparkling, speculative, spicy, steady, sticky, stiff, stilted, suave, sublime, submissive, sudden, suggestive, sunny, supercilious, superficial, superior, surprised, sustained, sweet, sympathetic

T and U
tentative, thankful, thin, tight, tight-lipped, timid, timorous, tired, tolerant, toothless, toothy, torpid, tortured, transcendent, tremulous, triumphant, truculent, trusting, twisted, unassuming, uncontrolled, unconvincing, unctuous, uneasy, uneven, unpleasant, unreadable, unsettling

V and W
vacant, vague, valiant, vapid, varnished, vicious, victorious, vindictive, visible, vivacious, wan, wanton, warm, watery, weak, weary, welcoming, whimsical, wholesome, wicked, wide, wide-eyed, wild, winning, winsome, wintry, wise, wistful, wondering, wooden, worried, wrinkled, wry

Similes and Metaphors

Words from the animal kingdom often function well as adjectives or as seeds for similes and metaphors. The animals, which are familiar to most readers, evoke memorable images.

A to T
apish, camel at a watering hole, cat who smells a mouse, Cheshire Cat [cliché], crocodile (false, phony), cud-chewing cow, dog licking its butt, froggy, hawkish, horsey, iguana, mulish, ostrich, reptilian, toady

More creativity starters:

as bright as dawn on a dazzling summer’s day

as sparkling as sunrays on powdered snow

as wrinkled as his slept-in shirt

cherubic — but deadly as a poisoned dart

like a groom’s grin on his wedding night

like a vampire who smells fresh blood

Colors

A villain might have a dark smile, whereas a cancer patient’s might be wan. The rictus grin of a person in death throes might look grey or blue. A tennis player might sport a sunburnt smile.

However, colors most often appear in descriptions of lips and mouths.

Verbs and Phrasal Verbs

While reviewing this list, remember that some verbs describe how smiles affect others:

Molly’s smile alarmed me.
Molly’s smile offended the mail carrier.

Some verbs serve double duty:

Alexander’s smile hardened on his face.
Alexander’s nonchalant smile hardened my heart.

A
adorn, affect, aggravate, agitate, alarm, alleviate [anxiety, dark mood, worry], anger, annoy, appall, appear, assuage [concern, fear, unease], astonish, astound, attract

B and C
bedazzle, befuddle, beguile, bewilder, bloom, blossom, bother, broaden, bug, burgeon, calm, captivate, charm, cheer, coax, coerce, comfort, confound, confuse, convince, cover [one’s face], crack [one’s face], creep onto [one’s face]

D
daze, dazzle, defeat, delight, demoralize, develop, die, disappear, disappoint, disarm, discomfit, discompose, disconcert, disintegrate, displease, disquiet, dissipate, dissolve, distend, distort, distress, disturb, droop, dry up, dumbfound, dwindle

E and F
electrify, emerge, enamor, enchant, encourage, endear, engage, engross, engulf [one’s face], enlarge, enrage, enrapture, enslave, ensnare, enthrall, entice, evaporate, exasperate, exhilarate, expand, explode, fade, falter, fascinate, fill [one’s face], flabbergast, flicker, flower, fluster, form, freeze, frighten

G and H
germinate, gnaw at, goad, greet, grieve, grow, harden, haunt, hearten, horrify, hurt, hypnotize

I to M
impress, imprison, incense, infect, inflame, infuriate, inspire, intimidate, intrigue, invite, irk, irritate, jolt, lure, madden, materialize, menace, mesmerize, mock, mollify, move [as in affect], mushroom

N to R
nonplus, offend, outrage, panic, paralyze, peeve, perplex, perturb, petrify, placate, plague, pop up, provoke, puzzle, rankle, reach the eyes [cliché], reappear, reassure, restore confidence, rile, rivet

S
sadden, scare, settle on, shock, shrink, shrivel, soften, soothe, split [one’s face], spread (out), spring up, sprout, startle, stiffen, stretch, stun, stupefy, surface, surprise

T
take root, take shape, take someone aback, tantalize, taunt, tease, tempt, terrify, terrorize, thrill, torment, torture, touch [as in affect], transfix, trap, trouble, twist

U to W
unfold, unfurl, unnerve, unsettle, uplift, upset, vanish, vex, wane, waste away, waver, welcome, widen, wilt, wither, worry, wound

Nouns

Is smile the word you want? Consider the following. In each case, a single noun can replace the adjective + smile combo:

beam: a good-natured or radiant smile

fleer: an impudent or jeering smile

grin: a broad smile

simper: a coquettish, coy, or ingratiating smile

smirk: a smug, conceited, or silly smile

sneer: a contemptuous, mocking, or unpleasant smile

More nouns that can replace smile include:

A to S
amused expression, amused look, arched lips, curl of the lip, dimpling of the face, leer, snigger

Props

See 600+ Ways to Describe Lips and Mouths for dozens of props that would be suitable for smiles.

Clichés and Idioms

It’s unlikely that smile idioms and clichés will cause undue repetition in your WIP, because English doesn’t contain that many. However, check for the following and replace them if they don’t suit your narrator’s voice or characters’ dialogue.

all smiles: delighted, ecstatic, euphoric, thrilled

wearing nothing but a smile: naked, nude, undressed