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Wearing a fake smile is an easy way to avoid uncomfortable questions. When you are not okay, the last thing you want is people noticing you look sad or constantly needing to explain what’s wrong with you. On this page, you’ll find 111 fake smile quotes which will show you you are not alone.
If you are facing challenges and going through tough times, you don’t always want the whole world to see it. Faking a smile sometimes is a defense mechanism to protect yourself from judgment and not show everyone that you are broken inside.
There is nothing wrong with hiding pain behind a fake smile, especially with people who don’t know you that well. Sadly, not people are kind and understanding, so let’s not give those toxic connections any satisfaction. As long as you don’t shut down completely and have someone to talk to, whether it’s your family member, a good friend, or an online therapist, you can totally put on a smile for others.
Who knows, maybe your fake smile becomes a genuine smile at some point! Recent studies show that ‘fake it till you make it’ approach is actually not groundless, and even smiling on purpose can make you happier. So why not free two birds with one key?
Oftentimes, you don’t even know what’s wrong, you just feel low and can’t bring yourself to enjoy life. And when someone asks you to share your feelings, even though they mean well, they might still make you feel like your feelings are not valid and you shouldn’t be sad. Like, there is no reason for you to be like that. So you should toughen up because it’s much worse for other people and they still survive.
Faking a quick smile and pretending to be okay can help you not face all that. Just don’t lie to yourself, alright, love?
Whichever your reason is for faking a smile today, don’t worry. Darkness always goes away eventually and better days are coming to replace it. Allow yourself to feel all the feelings, hope for a better future, and just keep smiling no matter what. The world deserves to see your cute smile! And you deserve to feel happy even when things don’t go very well.
Keep going, and you’ll get to a brighter place very soon!
In the meantime, here are a bunch of relatable quotes on fake smiling that will give you the support you need.
Most relatable fake smile quotes
These fake smile quotes may express what you’ve been feeling all along.

1. A fake smile can hide a million tears. – Ben Barnes
2. We plaster fake smiles on our faces to cover up our grief, but still wish that someone could take a close enough look to see just how broken inside we truly are. – Unknown
3. If you smile when you are alone, then you really mean it. – Andy Rooney
4. Sometimes you gotta laugh through the tears, smile through the pain so that you can live through the sorrow. – Alex Tan
5. Someday, everything will make perfect sense. So for now, laugh at the confusion, smile through the tears, be strong and keep reminding your self that everything happens for a reason. – John Mayer
6. People don’t fake depression. They fake being okay. Be kind. – Abhysheq Shukla
7. I hide hurt behind a fake smile. I wear it all the time. Everyone says how I always look so cheerful. Shows what they know I guess. – Ellen Hopkins
8. It takes only one grin to mask a million tears, so just because I’m smiling doesn’t mean I’m happy. – Unknown
9. Yes, I can smile, but it’s so easy to fake it. Yes, I can act like I’m happy, but inside I’m falling apart. Yes, I can pretend like everything is ok, but in reality, I’m broken. – Ester Escalante
10. A smile is the best way to deal with difficult situations. Even if it’s a fake one. Used properly, you can fool anyone with them. – Sai
11. Bad things do happen; how I respond to them defines my character and the quality of my life. I can choose to sit in perpetual sadness, immobilized by the gravity of my loss, or I can choose to rise from the pain and treasure the most precious gift I have – life itself. – Walter Anderson
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Short fake smile quotes
Here is a list of short relatable quotes about fake smiles:

12. The smiles of the unhappiest are often the widest. – Mokokoma Mokhonoana
13. I love those who can smile in trouble. – Leonardo da Vinci
14. If you smile things will work out. – Serena Williams
15. A smile is the best way to get away with trouble even if it’s a fake one. – Masashi Kishimoto
16. I soon came to the point where I didn’t know whether my smiling face was a lie or not. – Katsura Hoshino
17. Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional. – Haruki Marukami
18. Her smile is visible throughout the day, yet tears stream down her face at night.
19. Enjoy your life and put a smile on your face, no matter how hard it may seem. – Leighton Meester
20. Smile at the obstacle, for it is a bridge. – Medusa
21. No one will notice how broken you are on the inside if you smile. – Unknown
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Fake happiness quotes
The smiles we see on social media don’t always mean the people behind them are genuinely happy. It’s really common these days to fake happiness and pretend your life is perfect, even when everything is going wrong. Here are several good sayings about fake happiness:
22. Next time someone tells you to smile for the camera, & you don’t feel like it – say no, thanks. Don’t fake your way into a happy-seeming life. Open vulnerable honesty is true positivity. – Waylon H. Lewis
23. Genuine happiness is not nearly as common as a fake smile. – Mokokoma Mokhonoana
24. Some people are happy only because they have managed to deceive others into believing that they are happy. – Mokokoma Mokhonoana
25. How oddly do life and death jostle each other in this strange world of ours! How nearly allied are smiles and tears! – Shirley Bassey

26. We don’t even ask happiness, just a little less pain. – Charles Bukowski
27. I prefer to surround myself with people who reveal their imperfection, rather than people who fake their perfection. – Charles F. Glassman
28. The unhappiest people in this world, are those who care the most about what other people think. – C. JoyBell C.
29. Grief. The pain now is part of the happiness then. That’s the deal. – C. S. Lewis
30. I often find that people confuse inner peace with some sense of insensibility whenever something goes wrong. In such cases inner peace is a permit for destruction: The unyielding optimist will pretend that the forest is not burning either because he is too lazy or too afraid to go and put the fire out. – Criss Jami
31. Fake happiness is the worst kind of sadness.
Dominic Riccitello
Wearing a fake smile quotes
These quotes will remind you to wear a smile every day, even on the days that aren’t all wonderful.

32. Your smile looks beautiful on you, you should wear it more often. – Unknown
33. I add a smile to everything I wear and that has worked great for me. – David White
34. Even with the most horrendous things that happen and the tremendous pain that people have to deal with, they still laugh because I think that’s what it means to be human. – Gail Honeyman
35. Never let others see you suffer. Some thrive off your pain. So, no matter how cruel life is, always be kind and smile. If you do that, god will grant you a reward greater than the suffering you endured. – Imania Margria
36. I am intrigued by the smile upon your face, and the sadness within your eyes. – Jeremy Aldana
37. I don’t like talking. It’s how I’m built. Some people gab all day and some play it smogo. I don’t mind talking or smiling, it’s just I don’t do it very much. I haven’t got a smiling face or a talking mouth. – Ringo Starr
38. I’m going to smile and make you think I’m happy, I’m going to laugh, so you don’t see me cry, I’m going to let you go in style, and even if it kills me – I’m going to smile. – Lonestar
39. Everyone looks so much better when they smile. – Jimmy Fallon
40. Plastic people flashing fake smiles at a pretend world. – Steven James
41. Smile and let your heart shine! Once you have realized that people around you have nothing to do with your faults and losses, you will never have to wear a fake smile. Smile and emit the positive energy. Smile and love your surroundings. – Mahsati Abdul
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Quotes about faking a smile sometimes
Many famous people mentioned faking a smile sometimes, and they are the ones who know to keep their heads up in difficult times. These quotes are here to support you whenever you need to fake a smile:

42. When things are difficult, smile by faith. Don’t wait until you feel better. – Joel Osteen
43. Anyone can smile on their best day. I like to meet a man who can smile on his worst. – Lauren Graham
44. Bear with me while I plaster on a fake smile and plough through this shit one more time. – Bill Hicks
45. Smile even though you have nothing to celebrate. Celebrate the fact that you can smile. Some people don’t have nearly half of what you have and they are smiling just because they can. – Germany Kent
46. It’s easier to fake a smile than a personality. – Aaron David
47. Hide all your problems behind your sweetest smile. Because there is no one to help you out in your problems. You alone have to face it. So face it with smile. – Anurag Prakash Ray
48. I love the man that can smile in trouble, that can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection. – Thomas Paine
49. Put on your fake smiles and show the world how strong you are of holding the pain inside.
50. Doing a good deed isn’t so hard. Showing a bright smile to your loved ones makes a difference. Saying Thank you to anyone who made an effort to you creates a difference. Saying a word of encouragement here and there makes a difference. Small donations, small advice, sharing what you can, all these right, easy to do deeds can make this world a better place. – Noora Ahmed Alsuwaidi
51. Smile, because it confuses people. Smile, because it’s easier than explaining what is killing you inside. – Unknown
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Fake smiling quotes about hiding pain
We all feel pain at more than one point in life, and we all deserve to be left alone with our feelings when we really need to deal with them. These quotes are about hiding pain behind a fake smile:

52. The worst kind of pain is when you’re smiling just to stop the tears from falling. – Hiro Mashima
53. Many of us spend our whole lives running from feeling with the mistaken belief that you can not bear the pain. But you have already borne the pain. What you have not done is feel all you are beyond that pain. – Khalil Gibran
54. Many a smiling face hides a mourning heart; but grief alone teaches us what we are. – Friedrich Schiller
55. Smiling through confusion is courage. Smiling through tears is strength. Smiling through pain is power. Smiling through tragedy is greatness. – Matshona Dhliwayo
56. The smile that is worth the praises of earth is the smile that shines through tears. – Ella Wheeler Wilcox
57. True courage is being able to smile in the face of adversity while embracing one’s own vulnerability. – Unknown
58. Nothing is more beautiful than a smile that has struggled through tears. – Demi Lovato
59. Often it’s the deepest pain which empowers you to grow into your highest self. – Karen Salmansohn
60. When thunderstorms roll in, you make a choice to either succumb with tears to the gloomy downpour or smile and look for rainbows. – Richelle E. Goodrich
61. Given the choice between the experience of pain and nothing, I would choose pain. – William Faulkner
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Putting on a fake smile quotes

62. Tears aren’t always the best indicator of pain. It’s sometimes the smile we put on. – Unknown
63. I was glad my father was an eye-smiler. It meant he never gave me a fake smile, because it’s impossible to make your eyes twinkle if you aren’t feeling twinkly yourself. A mouth-smile is different. You can fake a mouth-smile any time you want, simply by moving your lips. I’ve also learned that a real mouth-smile always has an eye-smile to go with it, so watch out, I say, when someone smiles at you with his mouth but the eyes stay the same. It’s sure to be bogus. – Roald Dahl
64. All the tears are going to dry, you know, because someday you’ll laugh at the heartache. Someday you’ll laugh at the pain. You may be down on your luck but, baby, that old luck’s going to change. – Michael Bolton
65. I think the most successful and accomplished people are those who can show courage and admit they can’t do it alone. It’s pointless to struggle silently behind a fake smile. – Brittany Burgunder
66. Putting on a fake smile, so you don’t have to explain why you’re not happy. – Unknown
67. Don’t be gloomy. Do not dwell on unkind things. Stop seeking out the storms and enjoy more fully the sunlight. Even if you are not happy, put a smile on your face. ‘Accentuate the positive.’ Look a little deeper for the good. Go forward in life with a twinkle in your eye and a smile on your face, with great and strong purpose in your heart. Love life. – Gordon B. Hinckley
68. I buried my head under the darkness of the pillow and pretended it was night. I couldn’t see the point of getting up. I had nothing to look forward to. – Sylvia Plath
69. When life gives you a hundred reasons to cry, show life that you have a thousand reasons to smile.
70. A smile is the best makeup any girl can wear. – Marilyn Monroe
71. Sometimes all you can do is smile. Move on with your day, hold back the tears and pretend you’re okay. – Unknown
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Sad quotes about fake smile

72. Fake a smile. No one knows you’re broken. – Demi Lovato
73. Here I was again tonight forcing laughter, faking smiles. Same old tired, lonely place. – Taylor Swift
74. Smiles are like band-aids; they mask the discomfort. But it still aches. – Unknown
75. Not everybody looks sad when they are depressed. – Arti Manani
76. The most precious smile is the smile we see in the people in misery! – Mehmet Murat ildan
77. I would rather wear honest tears than the most beautiful and elaborately faked smile. – Tyler Knott Gregson
78. The great art of life is sensation, to feel that we exist, even in pain. – Lord Byron
79. A phony smile can only be worn for a limited amount of time. They’re easy to find and expose since they’re so common. – Unknown
80. Behind every beautiful thing, there’s some kind of pain. – Bob Dylan
81. Nearly everyone has his box of secret pain. – John Steinbeck
Uplifting quotes about fake smiles
Here are some positive quotes to uplift you when you feel like you don’t have a reason to smile:

82. Smile, even if it’s a sad smile, because sadder than a sad smile is the sadness of not knowing how to smile. – Unknown
83. Have faith in your dreams and someday your rainbow will come smiling through. No matter how your heart is grieving, if you keep believing, the dream that you wish will come true. – Unknown
84. You’ll find that life is still worthwhile, if you just smile. – Charlie Chaplin
85. I will follow the upward road today; I will keep my face to the light. I will think high thoughts as I go my way; I will do what I know is right. I will look for the flowers by the side of the road; I will laugh and love and be strong. I will try to lighten another’s load this day as I fare along. – Mary S. Edgar
86. Stop giving people the power to control your smile, your worth, your attitude and your day. Don’t give anyone that much power over your life. – Germany Kent
87. After every storm the sun will smile; for every problem there is a solution, and the soul’s indefeasible duty is to be of good cheer. – William Rounseville Alger
88. Keep your head up and keep smiling through the rain. – Unknown
89. I smiled back and I thought how incredible that was, that they would find the time to smile. There was goodness in the world still, even if you couldn’t always see it. – Jenny Valentine
90. It doesn’t matter who hurt you, or broke you down, what matters is who made you smile again. – Unknown
91. Smile and remember at the end of the day your blessings outweigh your problems. – Unknown
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Funny fake smile quotes
These are my favorite funny quotes about smiling during hard times, I hope they’ll make you smile and encourage you to keep going!

92. Be like a duck, paddling and working very hard inside the water, but what everyone sees is a smiling and calm face. – Manoj Arora
93. Smile, it’s free therapy. – Douglas Horton
94. It wasn’t a good fake smile. You could always tell when she was faking, because she didn’t look friendly; she looked like she was going to throw up. – Rick Yancey
95. When life throws you into such a terrible predicament, it’s easier to smile than to explain why you’re upset. – Unknown
96. Laughter and tears are both responses to frustration and exhaustion. I myself prefer to laugh, since there is less cleaning up to do afterward. – Kurt Vonnegut
97. I just like to smile. Smiling’s my favourite. – Buddy The Elf
98. A smile a day keeps the pain away. – Unknown
99. I’d rather have a fake smile than a nasty stare. – Tamara Ecclestone
100. Funny how a fake smile can be cracked or broken yet no one notices the pain that lies beneath it all. – Unknown
101. Head up, stay strong. Fake a smile, move on. – Unknown
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Quotes on what lies behind a smile
Not every smile we see reflects the true happiness of the person behind it. Often we have no idea what they actually have on their mind when their face shows a pretty smile. Here are the best quotes on what lies behind a fake smile:

102. The prettiest smiles hide the deepest secrets. The prettiest eyes have cried the most tears, and the kindest hearts have felt the most pain. – Unknown
103. Many smiling faces hide a bleeding heart. – Bangambiki Habyarimana
104. A smile doesn’t always stand for a perfect life. – Faraaz Kazi
105. Sometimes there are a hundred lies behind a smile and not a single truth behind a tear. – Saahil Prem
106. Anyone who has a continuous smile on his face conceals a toughness that is almost frightening. – Greta Garbo
107. Behind every sweet smile, there is a bitter sadness that no one can ever see and feel. – Tupac Shakur
108. Behind all of my phony smiles, there’s a lonely heart yearning for someone to console it.
109. You can tell whether a person is really laughing, not by his mouth but by his eyes! An insincere smile is nothing more than just opening the mouth and airing the teeth! Watch the eyes! – Mehmet Murat ildan
110. Look in the mirror and see what it shows. Positivity on the face, inside negativity flows. – Wrushank Sorte
111. People may be smiling but look to the eyes because they can’t hide the sorrow, pain, and heartache they’re trying to hide behind their smile. – Karon Waddell
Final thoughts on fake smiling
Not every smile has to be perfect and genuine. You are allowed to wear a fake smile sometimes and keep your pain to yourself. No one expects you to be an open book for everyone to come and see your feelings.
Let me know in the comments if these quotes were relatable to your situation, and which one was your favorite! I hope you feel better soon, and the world sees more of your beautiful smile!
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