sneer
To raise a corner of the upper lip slightly, especially in scornTo raise a corner of the upper lip slightly, especially in scorn.
» Don't sneer at that.
CK · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FRMeaning
2 senses(intransitive)To raise a corner of the upper lip slightly, especially in scorn.
(transitive)To utter with a grimace or contemptuous expression; to say sneeringly.
to sneer fulsome lies at a person
- smile contemptuously
- express through a scornful smile
Examples
19 sentencesTranslations
3 languagesOrigin
From Middle English sneren (“to mock, scoff at”), from Old English fnǣran (“to snort”), frFrom 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”).
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
sneers, sneering, sneered, sneeredSynonyms
8 synonymsAntonyms
2 antonymsWord family
2 related wordsLessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, regular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Present perfect: introduction — Because of its past participle
See also
neighbours in the dictionaryDictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.