godan verb (-u), intransitive verb
to smile gently
Only when written 微笑う
A rare literary or poetic spelling of わらう specifically meaning a gentle smile, not loud laughter. The standard word for 'to smile' is 微笑む (ほほえむ).
See also: 微笑む (ほほえむ)
彼女は静かに微笑った。
She smiled quietly.
The standard, common word for 'to smile'. 微笑う is a rare gikun spelling of わらう that carries a similar gentle nuance but is not the usual way to express smiling.
The common word for 'to laugh' or 'to smile'. 微笑う is a rare variant spelling that specifically emphasizes a gentle smile rather than laughter.
A gikun (meaning-based) reading of the kanji 微笑, normally read ほほえむ, applied to the native verb わらう to create a literary nuance of gentle smiling.