snivel

verb

Definition of snivelnext
as in to whimper
to complain or cry in an annoying way The child sniveled until he got his way.

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of snivel But Flynn also oozes sniveling self-righteousness while hotly defending and petitioning for childhood innocence (amusing hints emerge that the daughter is a somewhat lazy and dim underachiever). — Christopher Smith, Oc Register, 7 Apr. 2026 Bruce Springsteen was speaking truth to power when the titans of industry were caving and sniveling. — Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 23 Mar. 2026 Downey redirects all his Tony Stark smarm into this portrait of a sniveling, jealous political worm, a marvelous capstone to his Hollywood comeback story. — Jordan Hoffman, Vanity Fair, 15 Mar. 2026 Faced with the sniveling sum of these failures, Garfield is startled but compassionate. — Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 7 Nov. 2025 See All Example Sentences for snivel
Recent Examples of Synonyms for snivel
  1. whimper
  2. sob
  3. cry
  4. whine
  5. moan
  6. groan
Verb
  • When El Viejo del Costal (Michael Galvan) appeared onstage during a recent performance, draped in rough burlap, his movements liquid and slithering, a kid in the audience whimpered.
    — Laura Zornosa, Los Angeles Times, 21 Oct. 2026
  • Over the course of two hours, witnesses watched and listened as Christa Pike cried, whimpered and snored through Tennessee’s attempt to execute her.
    — Keri Blakinger, ProPublica, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of whimper
Verb
  • Zheng clinched with her first match point chance, serving an ace to Andreeva’s backhand side, then fell to the court sobbing with emotion.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 11 Oct. 2026
  • Five players and the referee tried to catch it, Steph recalled, while its owner sobbed on the sidelines.
    — Vanda Mayer, New Yorker, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of sob
Verb
  • Children crowded the play areas, despite the damp, gray weather, shrieking with joy (and in one instance, crying).
    — Idaho Statesman, Idaho Statesman, 23 Oct. 2026
  • Several jurors cried after viewing autopsy photos of Hedgepeth, according to local media accounts.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of cry
Verb
  • This contract then frees me, within the pages of the notebook, to do anything—to write or draw, or paint, to whine and complain, to plot and scheme—to fail or succeed without fear.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 16 Oct. 2026
  • While the left spent all week whining about Sophie Cunningham's hat and firing squad best practices, us PATRIOTS were biding our time, keeping our heads down, and grinding towards another weekend.
    — Zach Dean OutKick, FOXNews.com, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of whine
Verb
  • It's been a big few months for Austin Abrams moaning and groaning his way through some of the worst situations imaginable.
    — Megan McCluskey, Time, 16 Oct. 2026
  • For a cold moment the silence locked a grip on our table, though it was broken, at the edges, by the golf commentators moaning and harrumphing, Rory McIlroy having had a canary on a seventeenth fairway somewhere this championship Sunday.
    — Kevin Barry, New Yorker, 11 Oct. 2026
Definition of moan
Verb
  • Working again with the vast Northeastern producer group $$$–almost all of whom are individually credited on, like, every track–Bank$ and his preacher friend talk to God over spare keys and groaning nautical machinery.
    — Olivier Lafontant, Pitchfork, 19 Oct. 2026
  • It's been a big few months for Austin Abrams moaning and groaning his way through some of the worst situations imaginable.
    — Megan McCluskey, Time, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of groan

Browse Nearby Words

snitch (on)
snivel
sniveled
See all Nearby Words

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Cite this Entry

“Snivel.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/snivel. Accessed 26 Oct. 2026.

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