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"
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Recent Examples of sniffy
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
One half of the room loves the big and bold Bose signature sound, while the other half likes to be sniffy and snobbish about the brand that’s been dominating sectors of the consumer audio market since 1964.
—Mark Sparrow, Forbes.com, 17 July 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
Some systems can be overtly sniffy about poverty-spec audio files like this, but the KEF is not so judgmental.
—Simon Lucas, WIRED, 18 Jan. 2024
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
One half of the room loves the big and bold Bose signature sound, while the other half likes to be sniffy and snobbish about the brand that’s been dominating sectors of the consumer audio market since 1964.
—Mark Sparrow, Forbes.com, 17 July 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
Some systems can be overtly sniffy about poverty-spec audio files like this, but the KEF is not so judgmental.
—Simon Lucas, WIRED, 18 Jan. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sniffy
arrogant
Adjective
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Maekar refuses, earning a cutting rebuttal from Dunk about the royal upbringing that turned Daeron (Henry Ashton) into a drunken coward and Aerion into an arrogant and cruel madman.—
Megan McCluskey,
Time,
23 Feb. 2026
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And ironically, the most arrogant ones are the worst ones.—
Outside Online,
Outside Online,
11 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Sniffy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sniffy. Accessed 26 Feb. 2026.
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