crack a smile
To smile, especially while attempting not to.
Life is a gamble, we scramble for money I might crack a smile, but ain't a damn thing funny
ADJ
bright, broad, wide | faint, thin, wan, weak
beatific, cheerful, dazzling, happy, radiant, sunny, warm
The teacher gave her students a warm smile when they finished their project.
charming, gentle, sweet, winning
arch, disarming, enigmatic, mocking, rueful, sardonic, wry
He looked at the broken vase with a rueful smile and admitted he had knocked it over.
sad | shy | apologetic, sheepish | encouraging, indulgent, reassuring | polite | beguiling | ready | fixed, forced | supercilious | conspiratorial, knowing
grim
When she heard the bad news, she managed only a grim smile before leaving the room.
humourless, mirthless
The politician gave a humourless smile when asked about the scandal.
crooked, lopsided | toothless
QUANT
glimmer, hint, trace
There was just a hint of a smile on his face when he heard the good news.
VERB + SMILE
have, wear
When he walked into the room, he wore a big smile that made everyone feel welcome.
flash (sb), give sb, smile
The salesman gave me a friendly smile when I walked into the shop.
manage
Despite feeling nervous before the interview, he managed a confident smile.
return
When he waved at her across the room, she returned his smile warmly.
hide, repress, suppress
She tried to suppress her smile when he told the terrible joke.
forced
Even though he was upset about losing the game, he managed to force a smile for the camera.
bring
The children's laughter brought smiles to everyone in the room.
crease into
When she heard the good news, her face creased into a wide smile.
SMILE + VERB
fade, freeze, vanish
When he realized his mistake, his confident smile froze on his face.
cross sth, flicker across sth, play across sth
A warm smile crossed his face when he saw his old friend at the airport.
tug at the corner of the mouth
A slight smile tugged at the corners of her mouth as she read the funny message.
grow, spread (across/over sth)
As she listened to the good news, a wide smile spread across her face.
PREP
with a ~
The teacher greeted the nervous student with a smile to help her feel more comfortable.
~ of
The teacher's smile of encouragement gave the nervous student confidence to try again.
PHRASES
be all smiles
After hearing the good news about the job, he was all smiles for the rest of the day.
be wreathed in smiles
After winning the competition, she was wreathed in smiles for the rest of the day.
wipe the smile off sb's face
The coach's harsh criticism quickly wiped the smile off the player's face.
ADV
broadly, widely
The teacher smiled broadly when she saw all her students had passed the exam.
faintly, slightly, thinly, wanly, weakly
She glanced at the broken vase and smiled faintly, trying not to upset her mother.
dazzlingly, happily, radiantly, warmly
My grandmother smiled warmly as she opened the door to welcome us home.
charmingly, gently, sweetly, winningly | benignly, kindly, politely | shyly
encouragingly, indulgently, reassuringly
Her mother smiled encouragingly as she stepped onto the stage for her first performance.
apologetically, sheepishly
ruefully, wryly
He smiled ruefully when he realized he had forgotten his keys at home.
archly, enigmatically | conspiratorially | sadly | grimly | humourlessly, mirthlessly | crookedly, lopsidedly
back
When I waved at my friend across the street, she smiled back warmly.
VERB + SMILE
try to | manage to
make sb
His funny jokes always make the children smile during the long car ride.
PREP
at
The baby smiled at her grandmother when she walked into the room.
with
The children smiled with excitement as they opened their birthday presents.
PHRASES
smile from ear to ear, smile to yourself
He grinned from ear to ear when he found out he had passed the difficult exam.