Library / English Dictionary

SNEER

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

A facial expression of contempt or scorn; the upper lip curls

Synonyms:

leer; sneer

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Hypernyms ("sneer" is a kind of...):

contempt; scorn (open disrespect for a person or thing)

Derivation:

sneer (smile contemptuously)

sneer (express through a scornful smile)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A contemptuous or scornful remark

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Hypernyms ("sneer" is a kind of...):

contempt; scorn (open disrespect for a person or thing)

Derivation:

sneer (smile contemptuously)

sneer (express through a scornful smile)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Smile contemptuously

Example:

she sneered at her little sister's efforts to play the song on the piano

Classified under:

Verbs of grooming, dressing and bodily care

Hypernyms (to "sneer" is one way to...):

smile (change one's facial expression by spreading the lips, often to signal pleasure)

Verb group:

sneer (express through a scornful smile)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s PP

Derivation:

sneer (a facial expression of contempt or scorn; the upper lip curls)

sneer (a contemptuous or scornful remark)

sneerer (a person who expresses contempt by remarks or facial expression)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Express through a scornful smile

Example:

she sneered her contempt

Classified under:

Verbs of grooming, dressing and bodily care

Hypernyms (to "sneer" is one way to...):

evince; express; show (give expression to)

Verb group:

sneer (smile contemptuously)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s PP

Derivation:

sneer (a facial expression of contempt or scorn; the upper lip curls)

sneer (a contemptuous or scornful remark)

sneerer (a person who expresses contempt by remarks or facial expression)

Credits

 Context examples: 

You are dreaming, sir,—or you are sneering.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

Something like a sneer quivered over the gaunt features of the old professor.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The Inspector opened his eyes, and the Colonel’s lip curled in a sneer.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

An ugly sneer came over Sir Lothian’s saturnine face.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Our visitor had recovered something of his assurance while Holmes had been talking, and he rose from his chair now with a cold sneer upon his pale face.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

There was a man who had three sons, the youngest of whom was called Dummling, and was despised, mocked, and sneered at on every occasion.

(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)

Old Ebbits looked at me in childlike wonder, while Zilla sneered openly at the absurdity of my question.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

Or as certain as they used to teach at school (the same school where I picked up so much umbleness), from nine o'clock to eleven, that labour was a curse; and from eleven o'clock to one, that it was a blessing and a cheerfulness, and a dignity, and I don't know what all, eh? said he with a sneer.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

I never saw a circle of such hateful faces; and there was the man in the middle, with a kind of black sneering coolness—frightened too, I could see that—but carrying it off, sir, really like Satan. ‘If you choose to make capital out of this accident,’ said he, ‘I am naturally helpless.

(The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

Her elder cousins mortified her by reflections on her size, and abashed her by noticing her shyness: Miss Lee wondered at her ignorance, and the maid-servants sneered at her clothes; and when to these sorrows was added the idea of the brothers and sisters among whom she had always been important as playfellow, instructress, and nurse, the despondence that sunk her little heart was severe.

(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)