sneer
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sneer
- /snɪə̯/ UK
- /snɪɚ̯/ US
Rhymes with -ɪə(ɹ)
Where it comes from
From Middle English sneren (“to mock, scoff at”), from Old English fnǣran (“to snort”), from Proto-West Germanic *fnāʀijan, from Proto-Germanic *fnesaną (“to pant, gasp”). Akin to North Frisian sneere (“to scorn”), Middle High German snerren (“to chatter; gossip”), Danish snerre (“to growl, snarl”).
verb sneers · sneering · sneered
- To raise a corner of the upper lip slightly, especially in scorn. So General Oakfield's friends taunted him with having been beaten, and Blackeston's friends sneered at him for not having called the general out. Blackeston, a studious and sensitive man, felt the taunts of his friends as only a student can.
-
To utter with a grimace or contemptuous expression; to say sneeringly.
to sneer fulsome lies at a person
Similar: fleer
Similar: gird, jeer, jibe, laugh at, scoff, scorn, sneer · Opposite: cheer, laugh with
noun sneers
- A facial expression where one slightly raises one corner of the upper lip, generally indicating scorn. Near them, on the sand, / Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown, / And wrinked lip, and sneer of cold command, / Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
- A display of contempt; scorn. And wordy attacks against slavery drew sneers from observers which were not altogether undeserved. The authors were compared to doctors who offered to a patient nothing more than invectives against the disease which consumed him.
Thesaurus
Translations
Every language
verb raise a corner of the upper lip slightly in scorn
| 한국어 | 비웃다 biutda |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 嘲る azakeru, 冷笑する reishō suru |
| Français | ricaner |
| Italiano | ghignare, sogghignare |
| עברית | סָנַט |
noun facial expression that indicates scorn
| 한국어 | 비웃음 biuseum |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 嘲笑 chōshō, 冷笑 reishō |
| Français | sourire en coin |
| Deutsch | Hohnlächeln, höhnisches Grinsen |
| Italiano | ghigno, sogghigno |
| Русский | ухмылка uxmylka |
Talk about this word "sneer." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/sneer. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. sneer. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/sneer "sneer." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/sneer.Cite this
@misc{sneer_2026,
title = {sneer},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/sneer},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
