sneer

B2 Topic:Actions & Processes

US /snɪɚ̯/ UK /snɪə̯/ See IPA manual

Freq #32025

Meanings

1

verb
To smile or speak in a way that shows scorn or contempt.

He sneered at my attempt to fix the car myself.
2

noun
A scornful smile or expression that shows contempt.

She looked at the cheap gift with a sneer.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

2 noun · a scornful smile or... leer

More gird jeer jibe scoff scorn

Opposites

cheer

Word family

Forms sneeredsneeringsneeringlysneers

Derived forms sneerersneerfulsneeringlysneerlesssneerocracysneeryunsneering

Related forms bah snarl

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”).

sneren Middle English fnǣran Old English *fnāʀijan Proto-West Germanic *fnesaną Proto-Germanic

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Actions & Processes

External links

# sneer

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B2
**Part of speech:** verb, noun
**IPA (US):** /snɪɚ̯/
**IPA (UK):** /snɪə̯/
**Frequency rank:** 32025

## Meanings
1. To smile or speak in a way that shows scorn or contempt.
2. A scornful smile or expression that shows contempt.

## Examples
- He sneered at my attempt to fix the car myself.
- She looked at the cheap gift with a sneer.

## Synonyms
- gird
- jeer
- jibe
- scoff
- scorn

## Antonyms
- cheer

## Derived Forms
- sneerer
- sneerful
- sneeringly
- sneerless
- sneerocracy
- sneery
- unsneering

## Related Forms
- bah
- snarl

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: sneren
- Root: fnǣran
- Root: *fnāʀijan
- Root: *fnesaną

## 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”).

## AI Etymology
Sneer is 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”). Important forms in the word's history include Middle English sneren, Old English fnǣran, Proto-West Germanic *fnāʀijan, Proto-Germanic *fnesaną. In current use it includes senses such as To smile or speak in a way that shows scorn or contempt and A scornful smile or expression that shows contempt.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes

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