sneer
/snɪə
/noun
A contemptuous or mocking smile, remark, or tone: he acknowledged their presence with a condescending sneer...
- And so I thought that the massive sneer with which his remarks were greeted was unjustified.
- They'll have to put up with our weapon of choice: the condescending sneer.
- I was instantly flanked by two guards with a countenance of half sneers, half smiles on their faces.
Synonyms
curl of the/one's lip, disparaging smile, contemptuous smile, smug smile, conceited smile, cruel smile, mirthless smile, smirk, snicker, snigger
jibe, barb, jeer, taunt, insult, cutting remark, slight, affront, slur, insinuation;
(sneers) scorn, scoffing, contempt, disdain, mockery, ridicule, derision
informal dig
verb [no object]
Smile or speak in a contemptuous or mocking manner: she had sneered at their bad taste [with direct speech]: ‘I see you’re conservative in your ways,’ David sneered...
- He was contemptuous and sneering in pointing out that we were in the wrong carriage.
- The people sneered and mocked me as I descended down the stairs.
- He smiled and she sneered at him, then took a sip of coffee and returned to poking her eggs.
Synonyms
curl one's lip, smile disparagingly, smile contemptuously, smile smugly, smile conceitedly, smile cruelly, smile mirthlessly, smirk, snicker, snigger
scoff at, scorn, be contemptuous of, treat with contempt, hold in contempt, disdain, mock, jeer at, gibe at, ridicule, deride, taunt, insult, make cutting remarks about, slight, affront;
North American slur
North American informal jive
Derivatives
sneerer
- Indeed if the sneerers looked hard enough they would see that we are not the only ones that do not define our interests exclusively in regional terms.
- Well, I can assure the snipers and sneerers that I have been consistent.
- With a sneer in his voice that must have impressed even the great sneerer himself, the health secretary seized the moral high-ground as he insisted he would not rise to the bait.
sneeringly
/ adverb ...- He says, sneeringly, ‘What do you know about communists?’
- He was, it was said sneeringly, hiring mercenaries.
- It's another reason I so prefer the culture of science to that of our sneeringly mendacious government administration.
Origin
Late Middle English: probably of imitative origin.
Rhymes
- revascularisation
- revascularise
- revascularised
- revascularization
- revascularize
- revascularized
- rev counter
- Revd
- reveal
- revealability
- revealable
- revealed religion
- revealer
- revealing
- revealingly
- revealment
- revegetate
- revegetation
- revehent
- reveille
- reveille-matin
- revel
- revelability
- revelation
- revelational