ENGLISH DICTIONARY

Sneer

Definition, Meaning & Examples

Pronunciation /snɪə̯/ · Part of speech verb

Quick meaning: Sneer is a verb meaning (intransitive) To raise a corner of the upper lip slightly, especially in scorn.

Meaning

(intransitive) To raise a corner of the upper lip slightly, especially in scorn.

More Meanings

  1. (transitive) To utter with a grimace or contemptuous expression; to say sneeringly.
  2. A facial expression where one slightly raises one corner of the upper lip, generally indicating scorn.
  3. A display of contempt; scorn.

Example Sentences

to sneer fulsome lies at a person
Near them, on the sand, / Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown, / And wrinked lip, and sneer of cold command, / Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
He supposed then (with a sneer—M. Paul could sneer supremely, curling his lip, opening his nostrils, contracting his eyelids)—he supposed there was but one form of appeal to which I would listen [...]
And wordy attacks against slavery drew sneers from observers which were not altogether undeserved. The authors were compared to doctors who offered to a patient nothing more than invectives against the disease which consumed him.

Word Forms

Synonyms for sneer

Depending on context, synonyms include gird, jeer, jibe, scoff, scorn, leer.

Antonyms for sneer

Common opposites include cheer.

Related Words

Related dictionary entries include leer, scoff, deride, smirk, neigh, snoot.

Related Dictionary Tools

Sources & Attribution

FreeDictionaryAPI.com / Wiktionary · Original source · CC BY-SA 4.0

Dictionary data is provided by FreeDictionaryAPI.com and sourced from Wiktionary under its stated license.