variants
or snivelling
as in whimpering
to complain or cry in an annoying way
The child sniveled until he got his way.
Related Words
Relevance
Dissimilar Words
as in crying
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sniveling
Verb
-
The whining about everyone else didn’t help, either.—
Brian Moylan,
Vulture,
31 Dec. 2024 -
Stop whining and thank your lucky stars for having a job.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes,
27 Dec. 2024
Adjective
-
And every day, across from them, outside the clinic, about to enter or just leaving, there were women hugging each other and weeping.—
David Mamet,
National Review,
11 Aug. 2022
-
The show manages to stay on the brink — always laughing, never quite weeping — for its entire length.—
Helen Shaw,
Vulture,
8 Dec. 2021
Adjective
-
The funny thing is, by all accounts, Zaslav is also genuinely sentimental about the network and said to even have it on at his office quite often.—
Christian Blauvelt,
IndieWire,
9 July 2025
-
The luxury label’s classic products—often resold or passed down through generations—gain sentimental and financial value over time, per the report.—
Alexandra Harrell,
Sourcing Journal,
8 July 2025
Adjective
-
After a mawkish beginning, the play somewhat redeems itself through earned emotions and an ambiguous ending that begs discussion.—
Patrick Ryan,
USA Today,
14 June 2025
-
Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi, jailed and banned frequently, has never allowed his work to get mawkish.—
Amy Nicholson,
Los Angeles Times,
24 May 2025
Adjective
-
He’s also invested his protagonist with a self-deprecating sense of humor that keeps his pessimism from veering into maudlin territory.—
Book Marks
June 27,
Literary Hub,
27 June 2025
-
In his lesser novels, the tragedies are maudlin and the jokes mere punch lines.—
Charlie Lee,
Harpers Magazine,
18 June 2025
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.
Cite this Entry
“Sniveling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sniveling. Accessed 24 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share