as in laughing
to express scornful amusement by means of facial contortions
they brushed off his sneer and went about their business
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Recent Examples of sneering
Where is the patriotism in sneering at America’s great achievements?
—
Emilie G.c. Thompson, STAT, 15 Jan. 2026
Even the epithets for the Kansas City Chiefs are built on divisional rivalry and that team’s long track record of success, not sneering dismissiveness.
—Nick Coltrain, Denver Post, 30 Nov. 2025
Pluribus, despite its own existence as a piece of populist fiction, depicts all the readers of Carol’s Wycaro books from the perspective of her sneering disdain.
—Kathryn Vanarendonk, Vulture, 14 Nov. 2025
Democrats gathered for a conference hosted by progressives were sneering at Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, who was not present, for shutting down popular new faces based on disagreements over specific issues.
—Dave Smith, Fortune, 8 Nov. 2025
Still, they’re seldom required to provide more than sneering physicality.
—Dennis Harvey, Variety, 28 Oct. 2025
But the game has a way of sneering at coronations.
—Andy McCullough, New York Times, 25 Oct. 2025
Unlike The Beatles, Oasis arrived in the US with trademark sneering entitlement.
—Rob Picheta, CNN Money, 28 Aug. 2025
Emilie G.c. Thompson, STAT, 15 Jan. 2026
Even the epithets for the Kansas City Chiefs are built on divisional rivalry and that team’s long track record of success, not sneering dismissiveness.
—Nick Coltrain, Denver Post, 30 Nov. 2025
Pluribus, despite its own existence as a piece of populist fiction, depicts all the readers of Carol’s Wycaro books from the perspective of her sneering disdain.
—Kathryn Vanarendonk, Vulture, 14 Nov. 2025
Democrats gathered for a conference hosted by progressives were sneering at Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, who was not present, for shutting down popular new faces based on disagreements over specific issues.
—Dave Smith, Fortune, 8 Nov. 2025
Still, they’re seldom required to provide more than sneering physicality.
—Dennis Harvey, Variety, 28 Oct. 2025
But the game has a way of sneering at coronations.
—Andy McCullough, New York Times, 25 Oct. 2025
Unlike The Beatles, Oasis arrived in the US with trademark sneering entitlement.
—Rob Picheta, CNN Money, 28 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sneering
Verb
-
That a video of Sanders and Monken embracing and laughing made it to the team’s official social media pages was no coincidence.—
Zac Jackson,
New York Times,
3 Feb. 2026
-
Everyone’s laughing at the confessions until Emma speaks.—
Jason P. Frank,
Vulture,
3 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Emma spotted his brother first, then sprinted at him, arms outstretched, into a waist-high bear hug that Yoneifer – now a mature 9 – returned awkwardly, half-smiling.—
Maeva Bambuck,
CNN Money,
1 Feb. 2026
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Witnesses and video footage show Good was unarmed and smiling, not threatening.—
Larry Pino,
The Orlando Sentinel,
1 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Sneering.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sneering. Accessed 6 Feb. 2026.
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