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sneer

Pronunciation: /snɪə̯/

The English word “sneer” has 4 meanings listed here.

verb

  1. To raise a corner of the upper lip slightly, especially in scorn.
  2. To utter with a grimace or contemptuous expression; to say sneeringly.

noun

  1. A facial expression where one slightly raises one corner of the upper lip, generally indicating scorn.
  2. A display of contempt; scorn.

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”).

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Definitions are from Wiktionary, extracted by Kaikki.org, and are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.