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SNEERING
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (adjective)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Expressive of contempt
Example:
makes many a sharp comparison but never a mean or snide one
Synonyms:
sneering; snide; supercilious
Classified under:
Similar:
uncomplimentary (tending to (or intended to) detract or disparage)
II. (verb)
Sense 1
-ing form of the verb sneer
Context examples:
What Julia calls “society”, I see; among it Mr. Jack Maldon, from his Patent Place, sneering at the hand that gave it him, and speaking to me of the Doctor as “so charmingly antique”.
(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)
A general smile followed, in which Wolf Larsen joined, and the dinner went on smoothly, thanks to me, for he treated me abominably the rest of the meal, sneering at me and patronizing me till I was all a-tremble with suppressed rage.
(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)
The Parthenon came out in its next number patting itself on the back for the stir it had made, sneering at Sir John Value, and exploiting Brissenden's death with ruthless commercialism.
(Martin Eden, by Jack London)
They were sneering and negligent.
(Emma, by Jane Austen)
But he was quite easy and sneering. ‘Set your mind at rest,’ says he, ‘I will stay with you till the banks open and cash the cheque myself.’ So we all set off, the doctor, and the child’s father, and our friend and myself, and passed the rest of the night in my chambers; and next day, when we had breakfasted, went in a body to the bank.
(The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson)
A buzz of excitement went up from the knot of squires as Alleyne, his gentle nature turned by this causeless attack into fiery resolution, dashed his glove with all his strength into the sneering face of his antagonist.
(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
As soon as I was back again he returned to his former manner, half fawning, half sneering, patted me on the shoulder, told me I was a good boy and he had taken quite a fancy to me.
(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)
Martin came back and looked at the beady eyes, sneering, truculent, cowardly, and there leaped into his vision, as on a screen, the same eyes when their owner was making a sale in the store below—subservient eyes, smug, and oily, and flattering.
(Martin Eden, by Jack London)
Furious and gesticulating the Gascons, white and cold and sneering the English, while the prince with a half smile glanced from one party to the other, like a man who loved to dwell upon a fiery scene, and yet dreaded least the mischief go so far that he might find it beyond his control.
(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Well, if that's the idea you can count me out. . . . Nowadays people begin by sneering at family life and family institutions and next they'll throw everything overboard and have intermarriage between black and white.
(The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald)
