sneerful


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Related to sneerful: sneeringly

sneer

 (snîr)
n.
1. A scornful facial expression characterized by a slight raising of one corner of the upper lip.
2. A scornful tone or statement.
v. sneered, sneer·ing, sneers
v.intr.
1. To assume a scornful or derisive facial expression.
2. To speak in a scornful or derisive manner.
v.tr.
To utter with a sneer or in a sneering manner.

[From Middle English sneren, to mock, alteration of Old English fnǣran, to breathe heavily; see pneu- in Indo-European roots.]

sneer′er n.
sneer′ful, sneer′y adj.
sneer′ing·ly adv.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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