Creative Writing Thesaurus: Describing Smiling Characters

The smile is a shape-shifting beast. In a fraction of a second, it transforms to express contentment or bliss, politeness or amazement, shyness or hope, wistfulness or contempt. Researchers have identified at least twelve different types of smiles ranging from grins to half-smiles to sneers to grimaces. Some are genuine—natural, spontaneous expressions of emotion—and others are deliberate, serving a social function like subservience or masking the smiler’s true feelings.

As an editor, I’ve read more than one work-in-progress in which it’s hard to tell what types of smiles the characters are making or why they’re smiling. Is it a real smile or a fake one? Warm or ill-spirited? Easy or tense? When we can’t decipher the feelings or motivations of the characters, they seem wooden, and we disconnect from the story.

As you’re revising your manuscript, look for ambiguous smiles. “He smiled.” “She smiles.” Perhaps the context is clear and nothing more is needed—or maybe you can fine-tune that smile to deepen characterization.

Here are four techniques to shade in the nuances of your characters’ smiles in your creative writing.

1) Show the point-of-view character’s thoughts as they smile.

Why is your POV character smiling? Have them (discreetly) explain it to keep your readers on the same page.

Take these examples from critically acclaimed novels:

In spite of himself, a smile creeps across his face. The pleasure of leaving.

—John Green, Paper Towns

(The POV character smiles because he’s glad to be leaving.)

“A big mystery,” I said, then gave her a smile to show I wasn’t trying to be nasty to her.

—Kazuo Ishiguro, Never Let Me Go

(The POV character is smiling to reassure the other person.)

I catch Blair’s eye and smile shyly. She might not have been the most welcoming witch in the class, and she doesn’t give off a friendly vibe, but if she hadn’t given me those extra notes when I missed class, I’d never have known that I had to go to Nightshade Glade at midnight!

—Perdita & Honor Cargill, Diary of an Accidental Witch: Halloween Ball

(The POV character’s smile is shy because Blair intimidates her.)

2) Describe the smile.

How big is the smile? How long does it last? How does it move? What are its qualities? Which emotion does it reveal? Is it real or phony? How does it transform the smiler’s facial features? A true smile creases the eyes. In a grin, the teeth are visible. A smirk is often asymmetrical, with just one side of the mouth curling up. A tightness at the corners of the lips hints at suppressed anger or stress. Eyebrows that are drawn up in the middle reveal sadness.

Some examples from notable authors:

There was a barely perceptible smile on her lips. “No, Louis,” she whispered. “I can kill him.”

—Anne Rice, Interview with the Vampire

(A barely perceptible smile reveals the character’s deviousness.)

Something like a reluctant smile, rather rusty from long disuse, mellowed Marilla’s grim expression.

—L. M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables

(The description of Marilla’s smile illustrates her personality and attitude toward life.)

They are both intoxicated with happiness, Mother with a relaxed smile, Dad with a grin so large it pokes out from under the corners of his mustache.

—Tara Westover, Educated

(The description of Dad’s mustachioed smile helps us visualize his glee.)

Louisiana smiled down at Raymie. It was a beautiful smile. And for a minute, Louisiana almost looked like an angel, with her pink dress and the blue sky lit up behind her and all her hair clips glowing.

—Kate DiCamillo, Raymie Nightingale

(Raymie’s description of Louisiana imparts an angelic quality to her smile.)

3) Be intentional and creative with your word choices.

Smiles can be given, but they can also be slung, served, or shot. They can lurk at the corners of a mouth or flit across a face. They can be sunny, silky, subdued, ten-carat. A careful choice of words reveals the subtleties of the character’s psyche, as in the examples below:

He waited a long, hard second, then flicked a smile at her.

—Katherine Rundell, Impossible Creatures

(The fact that he flicks the smile suggests that the smile isn’t genuine or hides malicious intent.)

But on another day he came back smiling sideways and confided to Mama that every man has his price.

—Barbara Kingsolver, The Poisonwood Bible

(There is something hidden or subversive behind a sideways smile.)

Lily makes her mouth stretch east and west simultaneously.

—Ann-Marie MacDonald, Fall on Your Knees

(This unusual choice of words shows that Lily is forcing herself to smile.)

4) Use figurative language: striking imagery, a simile, or a metaphor.

For an especially memorable smile, compare it to something else—a light? A bubble? A dancer? A knife? The opportunities are endless, as demonstrated by these talented authors:

“The faintest touch of amusement bloomed at the corner of Peleus’ mouth.”

—Madeline Miller, Song of Achilles

(Likening a smile to a flower)

“Thank you,” Tsukiko says, with a shadow of her normally bright smile.

—Erin Morgenstern, The Night Circus

(Comparing a smile to light and shadow)

A smile caught fire on his cold face, and for a moment he forgot his chafing thighs.

—Douglas Stuart, Shuggie Bain

(A flammable smile)

“His smile was a sly thing, breaking in from the side of his face.”

—Jojo Moyes, Me Before You

(A smile that breaks in like a thief)

A smile walks over one side of his face but not the other. It almost looks like he’s actually happy, if you’ve never seen one of his real ones.

—Maggie Stiefvater, The Scorpio Races

(An anthropomorphic smile that walks)

A thousand and one synonyms for smiling

Seeking inspiration? Peruse the word bank below and borrow anything you find there.

SMILING THESAURUS

BODY PARTS THAT SMILE

• the face, the features

• the eyes, the corners of the eyes

• the mouth, the lips, the corners of the lips, the edges of the mouth, the side of the mouth

• the teeth

• the cheeks

SMILING NOUNS

• smile, grin

• smirk, sneer, grimace, leer

• simper

• expression, look, air

• curve, curl, crook, turn, pull, edge, tuck, tug, hook, slope, slant, tilt, bent, angle

• twitch, flicker, wrinkle, line, crease, pleat, crinkle, bunch, pucker

SMILING VERBS

• smiled, grinned

• smirked, sneered, grimaced, leered

• simpered

• beamed, flashed, lit, illuminated, glowed, shone, gleamed, glimmered, brightened

• formed, appeared, dawned, broke out/across, showed, gathered, touched, crossed, passed over, ran,

• returned, answered

• gave, sent, cast, threw, tossed, slung, flicked, dashed, served, directed, dealt

• offered, granted, bestowed, graced, favoured

• aimed, levelled, shot, fired, cut

• curved, curled, lifted, turned, drew, pulled, tugged, hitched, hoisted, turned, tilted, slanted, sloped, agnled, bent, crooked, hooked

• softened, loosened, slackened, eased, relaxed, settled, released, melted, unscrewed, smoothed, evened

• twitched, flickered, flicked, flitted, quirked, crooked, touched, edged, hid, lurked, played, wavered

• spread, drew, stretched, reached, touched, spanned, bloomed, broke out, broke across, split, cracked, took over, overtook

• drew back, pulled back, bared, skinned

• passed, moved, played, stole, crept, worked, inched, snuck, crawled, snaked

• opened, parted, separated

• broadened, widened, grew, grew wider, got bigger

• tried, attempted, ventured, struggled, tried for, aimed for, went for, shot for

• put on, assumed, took on, forced, fixed, affixed, placed, set, made, faked, feigned, pretended, improvised, switched on, composed, schooled, managed, mustered, found, hung, hitched, raised, decorated, painted, pasted, smeared, plastered, stamped, wrenched, forged, welded

• hid, lurked, concealed, masked, suppressed, repressed, swallowed, stifled, smothered, controlled, curbed, held back, fought back, choked back, quelled, quashed, stopped, caught, stilled, stalled

• screwed up, creased, wrinkled, crinkled, ruffled, pleated, puckered, bunched, puckered, scrunched, knit/knitted

• tightened, went tight, turned rigid, stiffened, tensed, tautened, clenched, contracted, squeezed, twisted, knotted, contorted, distorted, warped

• hardened, sharpened, firmed, seized up, froze, cracked, broke

• clouded, shadowed, darkened

• soured, curdled, turned bitter

• wavered, faltered, slipped, slid, listed, fell (away), dipped, tipped, tilted, dropped, collapsed, crumpled, slumped, pitched, caved in

• faded, dimmed, drooped, left, vanished, disappeared, dropped, lost, died, wiped, erased, went slack

SMILING ADJECTIVES

• upward, upturned, upcurved, uplifted, uptilted, skyward

• small, soft, slight, little, tiny, minute, faint, pale, weak, thin, narrow, frail, feeble, meagre, vague, shadowy, wan, flimsy, fragile, threadbare, closed-mouth, near, almost, half smile, half-hearted, half-open, hint of a, whisper of a, shadow of a, ghost of a, edge of a, trace of a, sliver of a, glimmer of a, something like a, not-quite-there, smile-adjacent

• shaky, tremulous, wobbly, faltering

• hesitant, uncertain, tentative, unsure, shy, timid

• reluctant, grudging, cagey, skeptical, dubious, reticent, ambivalent, conflicted, unenthusiastic

• sudden, brief, quick,

• long, slow, steady, even

• big, wide, broad, large, giant, enormous, full, great, fat, face-splitting, open-mouthed, all over, limitless, boundless

• bright, sunny, radiant, brilliant, blinding, dazzling, gleaming, pearly, incandescent, hundred-kilowatt, high-wattage, megawatt, high-voltage, ten-carat, award-winning

• open, easy, relaxed, wholehearted, shameless, irrepressible

• answering, in response

• real, true, authentic, honest-to-goodness, actual, earnest, ready, unschooled

• warm, friendly, affectionate, fond, amiable, genial, congenial, agreeable, amenable, affable, good-natured

• cheerful, cheery, joyful, joyous, jovial, jocular, merry, buoyant, lighthearted

• delighted, gleeful, thrilled, elated, exhilarated, exuberant, exultant, blissful, beatific, rapturous, enraptured, rhapsodic, euphoric

• beautiful, lovely, sweet, pleasant, appealing, innocent, rosy

• gracious, elegant, regal, prim

• charming, smooth, disarming, irresistible, captivating, enchanting, winning, golden, contagious, infectious, magnetic, arresting, devastating

• surprising, astonishing, incredible, remarkable, rare

• polite, courteous, obliging, acquiescent

• subservient, submissive, docile, compliant, dutiful, obedient, obeisant, virtuous, servile, slavish, obsequious, fawning

• sugary, saccharine, syrupy, cloying, fruity, buttery, sentimental, shmaltzy, corny, mushy, sappy, cutesy, twee, vapid, insipid

• goofy, toothy, silly, ridiculous, kooky, off-kilter, screwy, screwball, outlandish, offbeat, sappy, senseless

• crooked, lopsided, one-sided, sideways, sidelong, slanted, oblique, complicated

• vague, distracted, faraway, abstracted, bland, absent, watery, dreamy, misty, nebulous

• mysterious, secret, cryptic, enigmatic, inscrutable, indecipherable, unreadable, ambiguous, opaque, elliptical, quixotic, inexplicable, impenetrable, unfathomable, unknowable, foreign, remote, puzzling, obscure, secretive, furtive, shielded, veiled, covert, sphinxlike, Mona Lisa

• strange, weird, bizarre, bizarro, odd, curious, peculiar, singular, queer, spooky, eerie, off-putting

• forced, false, feigned, fake, phony, plastic, frozen, firm, insincere, counterfeit, facetious, mechanical, perfunctory, smarmy, snide, rictus, attempt at a, impression of a, approximation of a, mockery of a, her very best

• tight, tight-lipped, taut, thin, thin-lipped, strained, tense, pinched, stiff, brittle, steely, warped, twisted, clenched

• frozen, locked, rigid, rictus

• sly, sneaky, mischievous, impudent, impish, devilish, teasing, jesting, coy, crafty, devious, cunning, shrewd, canny, slick, sleek, wolfish, devilish, cagey

• bitter, dry, wry, rueful, cynical, ironic, sarcastic, sardonic, sharp, sour, tart, acerbic, grim, twisted

• smug, smooth, slick, lazy, leering, snide, knowing, shrewd, cunning, pompous, superior, supercilious, triumphant, victorious, bulletproof, shit-eating, cake-eating, cocksure, twisted, nasty, fat, derisive, mocking

• cold, unpleasant, ugly

• sharp, sharp-toothed, sharp-edged, razor-edged, razor-sharp, pointed, cutting

• mean, malicious, threatening, warning, sinister, dangerous, perilous, terrible, awful, hungry, nasty, predatory, savage, murderous, mercenary, unholy, threatening, eerie, creepy, ghoulish, ghastly, satanic

• sleazy, lewd, salacious, creepy

EXAMPLE PHRASES

SMILING IN GENERAL

• a (slight) smile

• with a (desultory) kind of smile

• a (happy) face

• a (radiant) look

• a look of (hilarity)

• a (pleased) expression

• an (amused) air

• an air of (contentment)

• she smiled (indulgently)

• she smiled in a (beatific) manner

• she smiled in a (cagey) way

• her smile was (different somehow)

• there was something (miraculous) in her smile

• an (odd) smile on her lips

• a (genuine) smile in her eyes

• a (playful) smile about her mouth

• a smile formed on her face

• her face eased into a smile

• a smile reached her lips

• an upward curl of her lips

• upturned lips

• she turned up her lips

• her lips were turned in a smile

• her lips curved

• her mouth curled

• her mouth quirked up

• she returned his smile

A BIG SMILE

• she cracked a (great big) smile

• a grin cracked her face

• a smile pleated her face

• she broke out in a smile

• she flashed a (brilliant) smile

• she flashed (dazzling white) teeth

• her teeth flashed

• smiling all over (her face)

• her face melted into a smile

• a smile bloomed on her lips

• her face settled into lines of (satisfaction)

• her eyes creased into triangles of (emotion)

• dimples appeared in her cheeks
  

A SMALL OR QUICK SMILE

• she smiled a little

• with a glimmer of a smile

• her mouth twitched

• the corners of her mouth twitched

• a smile twitched her mouth

• her mouth twitched in what was almost a smile

• a (faint) flicker at the corner of her mouth

• a smile flicked the corners of her mouth

• a smile flickered across her face

• a (small) smile lifted her mouth

• a smile worked over her mouth

• a (victorious) smile played at her lips

• a (soft) smile passed across her lips

• a (brave) smile wavered over her lips

• the ghost of a smile flitted over her lips

• a (slight) smile moved her lips

• a smile flitted across her face

• there was a hint of a smile around her mouth

• a smile lurking at the corner of her mouth

• a hint/whisper of a smile was playing at the edges of/across her lips

• a faint/hint of a smile touched her lips

• the edges of her mouth lifted

• a corner of her mouth tugged up (into a smile)

• she felt a smile pull at her face

• a (secretive) smile lurked at the corners of her mouth

• a (knowing) smile curved its way onto her lips

• a smile curled at the corner of her mouth

• a smile curled along her lips

• a smile crept across her face

• her mouth puckered up (with pleasure)

• her lips puckered at the corners

A FAKE SMILE

• she tried to smile

• she made herself smile

• she willed herself to smile

• she plastered a smile on her face

• she gave him her best smile

• a smile decorated her face

• a smile sat (stiffly) on her face

• she tossed off a (perfunctory) smile

• her lips stretched (mechanically) into a smile

A PURPOSEFUL SMILE

• she turned a (sly) smile on him

• she offered him a smile

• she gave a (polite) smile

• she granted him a smile

• she bestowed a smile upon him

• she graced him with a smile

• she threw him a (condescending) smile

• she dealt him a smile

• she cast a smile at him

A TIGHT SMILE

• a thin-lipped smile

• smiling with one side of her mouth

• a tight little smile

• with a strained smile

• she smiled through locked teeth

• her smile tightened at the corners

• the smile she gave was complicated

• she grimaced

• she cut him a smile

• her face set in a determined smile

AN UNPLEASANT SMILE

• she smirked

• a sneer curled her mouth

• a nasty smile sharpened her lips

• her lips drew back from her teeth

• a pointy-toothed grin

• her face sliced into a smile

• she leered at him

• a hungry smile settled across her face

A SMILE DISAPPEARING

• she lost her smile

• the smile dropped from her face

• the smile left her face

• her smile disappeared

• her smile vanished

• her (glee) faded

• her grin froze

• her smile drooped

• her smile went slack

• the (mirth) curdled on her face

• her smile soured

• her smile turned bitter

Something missing?

Got a smiling word or phrase of your own to add to the list? Share in the comments below.

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