sneered; sneering; sneers
1
: to smile or laugh with facial contortions that express scorn or contempt
2
: to speak or write in a scornfully jeering manner
: to utter with a sneer
sneerer
noun
Synonyms
Examples of sneer in a Sentence
Verb
“You obviously don't know what you're talking about,” she sneered.
they brushed off his sneer and went about their business
Noun
She looked at me with a sneer of disgust.
“They're paranoid,” he said with a sneer.
The novel elicited sneers from the critics.
Recent Examples on the Web
Antonio Pequeño Iv, Forbes, 29 Nov. 2023
Once the Duke of Wellington shows up at Waterloo, the fact that he’s played with such supercilious glee by the perpetually sneering Rupert Everett comes as a welcome relief.
—Ann Hornaday, Washington Post, 21 Nov. 2023
The cast is acted and animated with excellence, particularly Mara Junot as Sindel, reformed as a gentle sovereign, and Alan Lee, sneering as Shang Tsung.
—Gene Park, Washington Post, 15 Sep. 2023
The Australian Taxpayers Alliance—which usually sticks to, unsurprisingly, issues around taxes—got a young intern to go on Sky News and sneer about how climate strikers should stay in school.
—Amy Westervelt, The New Republic, 12 Sep. 2023
Books about crypto tend to fall into one of two categories: rah-rah accounts of how blockchain can better humanity or sneering takedowns that pronounce the whole thing a scam.
—Byjeff John Roberts, Fortune Crypto, 12 Sep. 2023
Within Rome’s elite the basic values of existence are not sneered at.
—Nick Vivarelli, Variety, 7 Sep. 2023
But the idea of just sneering at people is dangerous.
—Kate Knibbs, WIRED, 7 Sep. 2023
The Bell Jar, with its sneering descriptions of ski trips to the Adirondacks and boys who ran cross-country, offered me permission to write a certain way: intensely, cuttingly, in English.
—Rafaela Bassili, The Atlantic, 5 Sep. 2023
Michelle Orange, The New Yorker, 9 Oct. 2023
The killer could be Will, played by Timberlake with a dyspeptic sneer of anxiety that’s just off-kilter enough to be fascinating.
—Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 26 Sep. 2023
The new styling is essentially S550 with less fillip and more sneer.
—Sam Smith, Car and Driver, 25 Aug. 2023
But four decades ago, a teen movie traded in sneers for sensitivity.
—Soraya Roberts, The Atlantic, 22 June 2023
There’s a playful smirk behind every sneer.
—Spin Staff, SPIN, 30 Jan. 2023
The tendency for players to challenge defenders one-on-one or take high-risk shots used to be called hero ball, and it was said with a sneer.
—Louisa Thomas, The New Yorker, 27 Mar. 2023
But their reassurances tend to fall on deaf ears, as Hannah stays up late each night slaving over dresses her mean-spirited boss will likely dismiss with a sneer.
—Dennis Harvey, Variety, 11 Mar. 2023
Girl boss is a sneer.
—Annie Lord, Vogue, 20 Feb. 2023
See More
Verb
Spotify users have been known to claim their yearly roundup is superior to Apple’s, posting memes and sneering comments about Apple’s music streaming service.
—Antonio Pequeño Iv, Forbes, 29 Nov. 2023
Once the Duke of Wellington shows up at Waterloo, the fact that he’s played with such supercilious glee by the perpetually sneering Rupert Everett comes as a welcome relief.
—Ann Hornaday, Washington Post, 21 Nov. 2023
The cast is acted and animated with excellence, particularly Mara Junot as Sindel, reformed as a gentle sovereign, and Alan Lee, sneering as Shang Tsung.
—Gene Park, Washington Post, 15 Sep. 2023
The Australian Taxpayers Alliance—which usually sticks to, unsurprisingly, issues around taxes—got a young intern to go on Sky News and sneer about how climate strikers should stay in school.
—Amy Westervelt, The New Republic, 12 Sep. 2023
Books about crypto tend to fall into one of two categories: rah-rah accounts of how blockchain can better humanity or sneering takedowns that pronounce the whole thing a scam.
—Byjeff John Roberts, Fortune Crypto, 12 Sep. 2023
Within Rome’s elite the basic values of existence are not sneered at.
—Nick Vivarelli, Variety, 7 Sep. 2023
But the idea of just sneering at people is dangerous.
—Kate Knibbs, WIRED, 7 Sep. 2023
The Bell Jar, with its sneering descriptions of ski trips to the Adirondacks and boys who ran cross-country, offered me permission to write a certain way: intensely, cuttingly, in English.
—Rafaela Bassili, The Atlantic, 5 Sep. 2023
Noun
Disco, a mirror-ball fantasia born of Black, Latin, and L.G.B.T.Q. night life, mixed genres in search of the most glamorous, danceable grooves; New Wave kept punk’s D.I.Y. spirit and its reliance on irony but divested it of its sneer.
—Michelle Orange, The New Yorker, 9 Oct. 2023
The killer could be Will, played by Timberlake with a dyspeptic sneer of anxiety that’s just off-kilter enough to be fascinating.
—Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 26 Sep. 2023
The new styling is essentially S550 with less fillip and more sneer.
—Sam Smith, Car and Driver, 25 Aug. 2023
But four decades ago, a teen movie traded in sneers for sensitivity.
—Soraya Roberts, The Atlantic, 22 June 2023
There’s a playful smirk behind every sneer.
—Spin Staff, SPIN, 30 Jan. 2023
The tendency for players to challenge defenders one-on-one or take high-risk shots used to be called hero ball, and it was said with a sneer.
—Louisa Thomas, The New Yorker, 27 Mar. 2023
But their reassurances tend to fall on deaf ears, as Hannah stays up late each night slaving over dresses her mean-spirited boss will likely dismiss with a sneer.
—Dennis Harvey, Variety, 11 Mar. 2023
Girl boss is a sneer.
—Annie Lord, Vogue, 20 Feb. 2023
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'sneer.' 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
Verb
1680, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1
Noun
1707, in the meaning defined above
Dictionary Entries Near sneer
Cite this Entry
“Sneer.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sneer. Accessed 7 Dec. 2023.
Copy Citation
Kids Definition
sneer
1 of 2 verb1
: to smile or laugh with expressions of scorn
2
: to speak or write in a scorning manner
sneerer
noun
sneer
2 of 2 noun
: a sneering expression or remark
More from Merriam-Webster on sneer
Nglish: Translation of sneer for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of sneer for Arabic Speakers
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