gloating

American  

[gloh-ting] / ˈgloʊ tɪŋ /

noun

1. the act of looking at or speaking or thinking about something with excessive, usually smug or malicious satisfaction.

   For all our gloating about how progressive we are on issues of race and sexual orientation, we lag behind on some other human rights issues.

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adjective

1. looking at or speaking or thinking about something in this way.

   Asked about the protester's arrest, the mayor said with a gloating smile, "I wish him luck.”

Other Word Forms

• gloatingly adverb
• ungloating adjective

Etymology

Origin of gloating

First recorded in 1575–85; gloat ( def. ) + -ing ¹ ( def. ) for the noun; gloat ( def. ) + -ing ² ( def. ) for the adjective

Example Sentences

I won’t join in the gloating of some critics at the hundreds who have lost their jobs.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 9, 2026

The BBC learned earlier this week that the hackers sent an abuse-filled email directly to M&S's boss on 23 April, gloating about what they had done and demanding payment.

From BBC • Jun. 10, 2025

Three is either a charm or a curse – depending on your point of view – and there are plenty of people gloating or kvetching today.

From Salon • Nov. 7, 2024

Back in the 1990s, the California-as-disaster-epic narrative was tinged with some gloating — a comeuppance for a star-making destination that for decades was America’s post-war wonderland.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 6, 2024

Theodora, she tried to whisper, and her mouth could not move; Theodora, she tried to ask, why is it dark? and the voice went on, babbling, low and steady, a little liquid gloating sound.

From "The Haunting of Hill House" by Shirley Jackson