1,400 new words in our dictionary! — Parasocial, glow-up, promposal & more
1,400 new words in our dictionary! — More

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.

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

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 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 Played by a sniveling Casey Siemaszko, Billy is spineless and spiteful. — Sezin Devi Koehler September 1, EW.com, 1 Sep. 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
  • And then the child began to whimper, slowly waking from her sleep.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 2 Sep. 2026
  • Pancho, a heavy-bodied Airedale, whimpered and rubbed against my leg with the expectation of excitement to come.
    — Frank C. Hibben, Outdoor Life, 15 July 2026
Definition of whimper
Verb
  • Officers described the videos recorded by that camera, writing that Westman seemed agitated after a visit with family and at times sobbed before driving by the church and school the night before the attack.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 27 Aug. 2026
  • After the 911 audio concluded, a recess was called and she was wheeled from the room sobbing loudly.
    — Kerry Breen, CBS News, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of sob
Verb
  • In court, Lindsay appeared to cry during opening statements when a prosecutor described her three children and their manner of death.
    — Selena Barrientos, PEOPLE, 4 Sep. 2026
  • When the Kirk family attorney spoke about how Charlie Kirk stood for the opposite of hate, Erika Kirk was crying and nodding along.
    — Andi Babineau, CNN Money, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of cry
Verb
  • Still, to Sandy, Joe’s whining is no reason to write him off altogether.
    — Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 15 Sep. 2026
  • And everyone stop whining to their mom about the other one – or in this case, a federal judge.
    — Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 9 Sep. 2026
Definition of whine
Verb
  • Sam makes a production out of teasing them, mock-reaching for various items on the set as the whole group moans and wails in distress.
    — Tasha Robinson, Vulture, 8 Sep. 2026
  • Endo is the sixth choice midfielder and someone who never moans about his place in the pecking order.
    — James Pearce, New York Times, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of moan
Verb
  • Many fans would likely groan about Volpe returning to the big leagues at any point this year, but the Yankees haven’t ruled it out.
    — Chris Kirschner, New York Times, 7 Sep. 2026
  • Whatever the result, Sunday’s election in the state of Saxony-Anhalt is a clear signal flare that the foundations of modern Germany are groaning.
    — Mark Sappenfield, Christian Science Monitor, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of groan

Browse Nearby Words

snitch (on)
snivel
sniveled
See all Nearby Words

Podcast

Cite this Entry

“Snivel.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/snivel. Accessed 17 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of watershed

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

Words from the 'Odyssey'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
funny guinea pig in glasses reading a book
Challenging Words You Should Know Vol 2 Words to the wise
See All