sneersneer1 /snɪə $ snɪr/ verb [intransitive, transitive] 
Word Origin Examples
‘Is that your best outfit?’ he sneered.sneer at She sneered at Tom’s musical tastes.—sneering adjective: a sneering tone—sneeringly adverb
Word OriginWORD ORIGINsneer1
Verb TableOrigin:
1300-1400 Perhaps copying the actionVERB TABLE
sneer
| Simple Form | ||
| Present | I, you, we, they | sneer |
| he, she, it | sneers | |
| Past | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | sneered |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have sneered |
| he, she, it | has sneered | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had sneered |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will sneer |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have sneered |
| Continuous Form | ||
| Present | I | am sneering |
| he, she, it | is sneering | |
| you, we, they | are sneering | |
| Past | I, he, she, it | was sneering |
| you, we, they | were sneering | |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have been sneering |
| he, she, it | has been sneering | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had been sneering |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will be sneering |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have been sneering |
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
Thesaurus- "I wouldn't be seen in public wearing that," Janina sneered.
- As she read the letter, she started to sneer.
- He wanted to prove something to the critics who had sneered at his paintings.
- Instead of helping, they just sat and sneered.
- She'd not forgotten how Gareth had laughed and sneered at them when they'd first tried to be friendly.
- Some clients would sneer or smile sarcastically when I showed them my old laptop -- until they saw what it could do.
- Camels sneered and lurched to their feet, crocodiles yawned like man-traps.
- He had shined on innumerable lessons, sneered at too many ideas, turned thumbs-down on the mind.
- Hillary Clinton sneered at a llama that some one brought to a rally in Pennsylvania.
- It is easy to sneer at the credulous pilgrims.
- So many years a teacher, you know it all! she sneered, feeling her face twist grey and cold.
Longman Language Activatorto make fun of someone or something► make fun of
to smile or speak in a very unkind way that shows you have no respect for someone or something: to make someone or something seem stupid by making jokes about them: · They made fun of the girls and their new outfits.· You shouldn't make fun of other people's beliefs.· Peter didn't seem to realize that they were making fun of him.
► poke fun at to make fun of someone or something, especially in an unkind way: · The other kids poked fun at him, saying his mother dressed him like a girl.· His plays ingeniously poked fun at the way the Communist Party corrupted language.
► tease to make jokes about someone when you talk to them, either in an unkind way, or in a friendly way that shows you like them: · Sam's sisters used to tease him because he was overweight.· Don't get upset, Stuart, she's only teasing.tease somebody about something: · Kevin's always teasing me about my cooking.
► pull somebody's leg informal to make fun of someone in a friendly way by telling something that is not true: · Did Ronnie really call or are you just pulling my leg?pull sb's leg about: · Don't worry. I was just pulling your leg about moving - I'm not going anywhere.
► taunt to repeatedly say unpleasant things to someone that show you do not respect them, in order to make them angry or upset: · She went on taunting him until he lost his temper.· When I didn't want to fight he would taunt me repeatedly. "Coward," he would say, "coward, coward, coward ...."taunt somebody about something: · He couldn't forget how they had taunted him about his appearance.
► send up a book, film, or performance that sends up a group or person makes fun of them by copying them in a very funny way: send up somebody: · Gibson's new play brilliantly sends up the upper classes and their attitudes.send somebody up: · Half the time, he uses his act to send himself up.
► sneer to show by your unpleasant attitude or remarks that you do not have a high opinion of someone or what they do: · Instead of helping, they just sat and sneered.sneer at: · He wanted to prove something to the critics who had sneered at his paintings.
► mock to make fun of a person, institution, belief etc, and show that you do not have a high opinion of them, sometimes in a friendly way: · Liz mocked him, saying that he was a coward.· The press mocked his attempts to appeal to young voters.· "Ooh, aren't you clever!" she mocked.· You mustn't mock -- it's not their fault they don't know much about art.
► take the mickey British informal to make someone look stupid, in either a friendly or unfriendly way, for example by saying something you do not mean or by copying their behaviour: · Just ignore him - he's just taking the mickey.· "You're a genius - you should go on one of those quiz shows!" "Are you taking the mickey?"take the mickey out of: · They're always taking the mickey out of each other, but they're good friends really.
► take the piss informal to make fun of someone - some people consider this expression to be rude: · I didn't mean it - I was only taking the piss.take the piss out of: · The show takes the piss out of virtually everyone, from politicians to eco-warriors.
to smile in an unpleasant way► smirk to smile in an unpleasant way, for example because you are pleased about someone else's bad luck or because you know something that they do not know: · She sits there smirking as if she's the only one who knows the answer.· 'You realise you'll be stuck out here on your own, don't you?' he smirked. (=said with a smirk)smirk at: · What are you smirking at?
► leer to smile in a way that is unpleasant or threatening and that shows unwelcome sexual interest in someone: · The man with the gold tooth leered and slapped his hand on her knee.leer at: · My boss was a disgusting man who used to leer at me whenever he passed by my desk.
► sneer to smile in an unpleasant and offensive way that shows you think someone is stupid or less good than you: · As she read the letter, she started to sneer.· Some clients would sneer or smile sarcastically when I showed them my old laptop -- until they saw what it could do.sneer at: · She'd not forgotten how Gareth had laughed and sneered at them when they'd first tried to be friendly.
‘Is that your best outfit?’ he sneered.sneer at She sneered at Tom’s musical tastes.—sneering adjective: a sneering tone—sneeringly adverb