Synonyms
- arrogant
- assumptive
- bumptious
- cavalier
- chesty
- haughty
- high-and-mighty
- high-handed
- high-hat
- highfalutin
- hifalutin
- huffish
- huffy
- imperious
- important
- lofty
- lordly
- masterful
- overweening
- peremptory
- pompous
- presuming
- presumptuous
- pretentious
- self-asserting
- self-assertive
- stiff-necked
- supercilious
- superior
- toplofty
- toploftical
- uppish
- uppity
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
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
Posh brands are getting less sniffy about online sales, which were only 7-8% of the total in 2019.
—The Economist, 19 June 2020
Horror fans tend to be sniffy about filmmakers who eschew lashing of gore and an atmosphere of kiddie-repulsing intensity in favor of attempting to garner the largest possible audience with a rating lower than an R.
—Clark Collis, EW.com, 8 Aug. 2019
There is a similarly detailed list of American girls who have already married peers, along with a fairly sniffy résumé of what various titles are worth.
—Anne De Courcy, WSJ, 5 Oct. 2018
See More
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
Posh brands are getting less sniffy about online sales, which were only 7-8% of the total in 2019.
—The Economist, 19 June 2020
Horror fans tend to be sniffy about filmmakers who eschew lashing of gore and an atmosphere of kiddie-repulsing intensity in favor of attempting to garner the largest possible audience with a rating lower than an R.
—Clark Collis, EW.com, 8 Aug. 2019
There is a similarly detailed list of American girls who have already married peers, along with a fairly sniffy résumé of what various titles are worth.
—Anne De Courcy, WSJ, 5 Oct. 2018
See More
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
Articles Related to sniffy
Dictionary Entries Near sniffy
Cite this Entry
“Sniffy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sniffy. Accessed 3 Dec. 2023.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share