sniffier; sniffiest
: having or expressing a haughty attitude : disdainful, supercilious
sniffily adverb
sniffiness noun

Examples of sniffy in a Sentence

She wrote a sniffy letter rejecting his offer. she was sniffy about anyone who didn't live up to her standards for “good manners”
Recent Examples on the Web Their rewiring of Test cricket was thrilling everyone back in 2022 (apart from a sniffy Australia) when England became the first team to complete a clean sweep in Pakistan and in some style. Tim Ellis, Forbes, 4 Oct. 2024 When confronted with the American habit of ascribing an overseas soccer team’s style of play to its most recognizable national characteristics, Europeans tend to get a bit sniffy. Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 28 June 2024 The Chinese Communist Party becomes sniffy about social media platforms collecting data on users in China. Kevin Rennie, Hartford Courant, 23 Mar. 2024 To those who might feel a bit sniffy about the short-cuts around the hard work of making music that Mayk. David Prosser, Forbes, 9 June 2022 Both have tried, with varying success, to overcome the sniffy charges of flashiness. Carolina A. Mirandacolumnist, Los Angeles Times, 16 Apr. 2022 Admiral Godfrey is sniffy about their preposterous deception proposal’s chances of success, but Churchill gives it the go-ahead, so they are installed in a basement office and put to work. David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 16 Apr. 2022 Anchoring it all are ribbed sisal rugs that prevent the tone from becoming too French and sniffy. Guy Trebay, Town & Country, 2 Sep. 2021 The altered line sounds like the kind of sniffy pronouncement that might have issued from an earlier Leigh heroine, Scarlett O’Hara. Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 18 Mar. 2021

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'sniffy.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1871, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of sniffy was in 1871

Dictionary Entries Near sniffy

Cite this Entry

“Sniffy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sniffy. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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