sneer
Plural: sneers
Noun
- a facial expression of contempt or scorn; the upper lip curls
- a contemptuous or scornful remark
- A facial expression where one slightly raises one corner of the upper lip, generally indicating scorn.
- A display of contempt; scorn.
Verb
Verb Forms: sneered, sneering, sneers
- To smile or speak in a contemptuous or mocking manner.
- express through a scornful smile
- "she sneered her contempt"
- smile contemptuously
- "she sneered at her little sister's efforts to play the song on the piano"
- To raise a corner of the upper lip slightly, especially in scorn.
- To utter with a grimace or contemptuous expression; to say sneeringly.
Examples
- He tried to SNEER at my small word, but it landed on a triple-letter square.
- to sneer fulsome lies at a person
Origin / Etymology
From Middle English sneren (“to mock, scoff at”), from Old English fnǣran (“to snort”), from Proto-West Germanic *fnāʀijan, from Proto-Germanic *fnesaną (“to pant, gasp”). Akin to North Frisian sneere (“to scorn”), Middle High German snerren (“to chatter; gossip”), Danish snerre (“to growl, snarl”).
Synonyms
Scrabble Score: 5
sneer: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Wordsneer: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
sneer: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary
Words With Friends Score: 6
sneer: valid Words With Friends Word