Did you know?
There's never been anything pretty about sniveling. Snivel, which originally meant simply "to have a runny nose," has an Old English ancestor whose probable form was snyflan. Its lineage includes some other charming words of yore: an Old English word for mucus, snofl; the Middle Dutch word for a head cold, snof; the Old Norse word for snout, which is snoppa; and nan, a Greek verb meaning "to flow." Nowadays, we mostly use snivel as we have since the 1600s: when self-pitying whining is afoot, whether or not such sniveling is accompanied by unchecked nasal flow.
Examples of snivel in a Sentence
Jennifer Zhan, Vulture, 27 June 2025
In league with its sniveling human colleague Gabriel (Esai Morales, cackling with evil intent as if being paid by the cackle), The Entity is hacking into the world’s nuclear defense systems and taking control of the missiles, one paralyzed and panicking nation at a time.
—Michael Phillips Chicago Tribune, Boston Herald, 22 May 2025
But when Aurelius informs his son, Commodus (a sniveling Joaquin Phoenix), the latter murders his father before the decision is made public.
—Lisa De Los Reyes, The Hollywood Reporter, 18 Dec. 2024
But Sarah had only driven about a block before Jamie called to snivel out an apology.
—Charlie Mason, TVLine, 24 Nov. 2024
Tom Felton, who played the sniveling Slytherin in every Potter film, wrote a tribute to the actress on Instagram.
—Wesley Stenzel, EW.com, 28 Sep. 2024
Still, the war between the virtuous Autobots and the sniveling Decepticons has enough sheer weirdness to it to serve as inspiration for compelling fiction, even if Michael Bay has never managed to crack that code.
—Wilson Chapman, IndieWire, 12 Sep. 2024
But any hopes of a warm and fuzzy family reunion were dashed in the Season 3 finale, when Soldier Boy called Homelander weak and sniveling.
—Vlada Gelman, TVLine, 18 July 2024
Gollum feels some guilt, finally Photo: New Line Cinema
Serkis does a fantastic job in The Two Towers bouncing back and forth between the aggressive and conniving Gollum and the needy and sniveling Smeagol as the creature grows close to Frodo but is also increasingly drawn to the One Ring.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 14 Feb. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Snivel.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/snivel. Accessed 4 Jul. 2025.
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