Synonyms of sniffy

sniffy

adjective

ˈsni-fē 

as in arrogant

having a feeling of superiority that shows itself in an overbearing attitude

she was sniffy about anyone who didn't live up to her standards for "good manners"

Synonyms & Similar Words

• arrogant
• supercilious
• cavalier
• bumptious
• uppity
• haughty
• huffy
• pretentious
• superior
• high-and-mighty
• assumptive
• chesty
• high-handed
• pompous
• important
• uppish
• smug
• domineering
• presumptuous
• imperious
• peremptory
• dominant
• high-hat
• proud
• highfalutin
• masterful
• lordly
• patronizing
• huffish
• condescending
• overweening
• snooty
• presuming
• authoritarian
• snobbish
• toplofty
• snobby
• self-assertive
• lofty
• bossy
• disdainful
• impudent
• dominating
• stiff-necked
• pontifical
• self-asserting
• saucy
• magisterial
• bombastic
• boastful
• conceited
• cocky
• swaggering
• egocentric
• vainglorious
• impertinent
• blustery
• narcissistic
• hubristic
• pontificating
• complacent
• vain
• egotistic
• braggy
• blusterous
• stuck-up
• self-satisfied
• uninhibited
• egoistic
• bragging
• immodest
• braggart
• self-complacent
• unreserved
• self-centered
• prideful
• brash
• extroverted
• self-conceited
• self-flattering
• self-promoting
• self-applauding
• self-pleased
• self-affected
• self-loving
• forward
• orgulous

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• humble
• modest
• lowly
• timid
• unpretentious
• sheepish
• bashful
• shy
• subdued
• diffident
• shrinking
• passive
• introverted
• mousy
• deferential
• demure
• meek
• acquiescent
• unassuming
• submissive
• unobtrusive
• compliant
• unassertive
• cringing
• unarrogant
• unaggressive
• quiet
• yielding
• self-critical
• self-doubting
• cowering
• reserved
• retiring
• overmodest

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of sniffy

Those who are a bit sniffy about older movies will be surprised at how modern and dangerous this feels. — Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 11 Apr. 2026

In fact, it’s been positively sniffy about the entire concept. — Barry Collins, Forbes.com, 27 Feb. 2026

Some of the responses were a bit sniffy from critics and a little from audiences. — Zack Sharf, Variety, 10 Feb. 2026

Even downtown buildings can get sniffy — one broker told me a client of his, a 30-year-old with hundreds of millions in assets, had been turned down from buying a $2 million Chelsea co-op. — Kim Velsey, Curbed, 13 Aug. 2025

People in England — players, managers, fans, media —need to be less sniffy about the under-21s. — Oliver Kay, The Athletic, 13 Mar. 2025

Their rewiring of Test cricket was thrilling everyone back in 2022 (apart from a sniffy Australia) when England became the first team to complete a clean sweep in Pakistan and in some style. — Tim Ellis, Forbes, 4 Oct. 2024

When confronted with the American habit of ascribing an overseas soccer team’s style of play to its most recognizable national characteristics, Europeans tend to get a bit sniffy. — Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 28 June 2024

The Chinese Communist Party becomes sniffy about social media platforms collecting data on users in China. — Kevin Rennie, Hartford Courant, 23 Mar. 2024