as in laughter
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1
as in laughing
to express scornful amusement by means of facial contortions
he snickered at the puzzled look on her face
Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in giggling
to show mirth with an explosive vocal sound
only hard-core fans of teen comedies will snicker at this lame attempt
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Recent Examples of snickering
Kevin Dolak, HollywoodReporter, 12 Sep. 2025
Tyler Estep, AJC.com, 14 Jan. 2026
As the Columbus Blue Jackets were set to make their sixth-round pick in the 2008 NHL Draft, one of the club’s former scouts, Rob Riley, heard snickering among his colleagues at their table on the draft floor.
—Aaron Portzline, New York Times, 17 Oct. 2025
Noun
This rare unity across the aisle in the wake of a horrible tragedy left TMZ, the popular entertainment news platform known for its tenacity and deluge of scoops, on the defensive about the on-air snickering.
—Kevin Dolak, HollywoodReporter, 12 Sep. 2025
Verb
But after the boy’s friends started snickering, Gramps shifted to a more succinct potato reference.
—Tyler Estep, AJC.com, 14 Jan. 2026
As the Columbus Blue Jackets were set to make their sixth-round pick in the 2008 NHL Draft, one of the club’s former scouts, Rob Riley, heard snickering among his colleagues at their table on the draft floor.
—Aaron Portzline, New York Times, 17 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for snickering
Noun
-
This last part seemed to be a joke, eliciting a peal of laughter from his wife.—
Natasha O'Neill,
Vanity Fair,
3 Feb. 2026
-
Nothing too dramatic, just a little dose of laughter to lighten up your day.—
Tarot.com,
Chicago Tribune,
3 Feb. 2026
Verb
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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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Social media users, meanwhile, could not get enough of the two getting tipsy on-air and giggling through the night.—
Saman Shafiq,
USA Today,
2 Jan. 2026
-
This is perfect for emergency organic kale runs or ripping around backcountry carvers with four giggling friends (or, in this author’s case, one friend and three ebullient toddlers in car seats).—
Sean Evans,
Robb Report,
23 Dec. 2025
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
-
Witnesses and video footage show Good was unarmed and smiling, not threatening.—
Larry Pino,
The Orlando Sentinel,
1 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
In the front of the bus, Kilgo first started chuckling softly.—
Scott Fowler,
Charlotte Observer,
28 Jan. 2026
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When that happens, press play on these funny Hanukkah songs that will have the whole family chuckling.—
Fiona Tapp,
Parents,
16 Dec. 2025
Verb
-
After National Guardsmen shot and killed four unarmed students at Kent State on May 4, 1970, Neil Young saw a Life magazine photo of a teenage girl screaming over one of the bodies and immediately wrote this song.—
Brian Hiatt,
Rolling Stone,
1 Feb. 2026
-
An astute writer, Aristidou avoids including a screaming match typical of stories like this.—
Carlos Aguilar,
Variety,
31 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Snickering.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/snickering. Accessed 5 Feb. 2026.
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