snide
Americanadjective
adjective
-
Also: snidey. (of a remark, etc) maliciously derogatory; supercilious
-
counterfeit; sham
noun
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of snide
First recorded in 1860–65; origin uncertain
Explanation
Snide means insulting or contemptuous in an indirect way. If your friend is wearing too much purple eye shadow and your other friend whispers to you, “What? Was she in a car wreck?” that’s a snide comment. Snide remarks are the kinds of things people say with a sneer on their face. When you leave a movie theater and your friend says, “I can’t believe someone was actually paid to write that screenplay,” he’s being snide. Instead of saying, “That movie was terrible,” he's expressing his disdain in a more underhanded and indirect way.
Vocabulary lists containing snide
10 Words that Inspired Taylor Swift
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
The Stranger
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The doting boyfriend, the overzealous best friend, the snide coworker, the absentee mother — played here by Kristen Johnston, whose character’s name is ingeniously spelled “Beverlee.”
From Salon ● Jun. 22, 2026
Fast, crisp and snide, “The Diary of a Chambermaid” gives equal weight to the monotony and the absurdity of Gianina’s grind.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 22, 2026
Ms. Jackson is no apologist—her James has flaws aplenty—but where prior historians offered snide caricature, she portrays a complex leader who was “intelligent, resilient, idiosyncratic, irascible, guileful and witty.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 5, 2025
My measly basket is filled with nothing but candy, earning a few snide looks from my cashier.
From Salon ● Sep. 13, 2025
He showed up every day in the same rumpled sweater, the only one he owned, and almost every day there were snide remarks about it in the locker room.
From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown
The teak boxes for snider ammunition, also the boxes of Hale's rockets, were lined and hermetically sealed with soldered tin.
From Ismailia by Baker, Samuel White, Sir
The total, including that from the men's cartouche-boxes, was cartridges for snider rifles 4,540 and cartridges for muskets 4,330, making a total of 8,870 rounds.
From Ismailia by Baker, Samuel White, Sir
The authorities at Woolwich had kindly supplied the expedition with 200 Hale's rockets—three-pounders—and fifty snider rifles, together with 50,000 rounds of snider ammunition.
From Ismailia by Baker, Samuel White, Sir
Kabba Rega was delighted with the mechanism of Monsoor's snider rifle, which he at once understood and explained to his body-guard.
From Ismailia by Baker, Samuel White, Sir
I served out fifteen rounds of snider ammunition per man to the 'Forty Thieves,' thus filling up their pouches to thirty rounds.
From Ismailia by Baker, Samuel White, Sir
We know this because Charles Dance recites Michelangelo’s snidest journal passages throughout, bringing a welcome pettiness to an otherwise staid chapter of art history.
From Salon ● May 16, 2026
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
