snooty

American  

[snoo-tee] / ˈsnu ti /

adjective

Informal.

snootier, snootiest

1. snobbish.

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snooty British  

/ ˈsnuːtɪ /

adjective

1. aloof or supercilious

2. snobbish or exclusive

   a snooty restaurant

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Usage

What does snooty mean? Snooty means snobby. It’s typically used to describe a person who thinks they have better taste or higher standards than other people and treats them in a condescending way because of it. Snooty is always used negatively. It’s often used to describe people that exclude others, typically due to the perception that others are not good enough. Snooty isn’t only applied to people—you can call a restaurant snooty, for example, if it’s overly exclusive. A snooty person can be called a snoot, which means the same thing as snob. But the adjective snooty is much more commonly used than the noun snoot. Example: The kids in my class are so snooty—they all just stick to their own cliques and don’t try to make friends with anyone else.

Other Word Forms

• snootily
  adverb
• snootiness
  noun

Etymology

Origin of snooty

First recorded in 1915–20; snoot + -y ¹

Explanation

Use the word snooty to describe someone who is a terrible, stuck-up snob. Your snooty grandmother might refuse to take the subway because she doesn't want to mix with regular people. Snooty people generally think they're better than everyone else, often because they have more money or believe they belong to a higher social class. A snooty college freshman might demand a single room in the very best dorm, and a snooty waiter in a fancy restaurant might make you feel like you don't belong there. Snooty first appeared as college slang in 1918, from the now defunct 1800's word snouty, which implied "looking down your nose at people."

Example Sentences

Snooty Winter Olympics purists might turn up their noses at snowboarding’s self-consciously “extreme” nature.

From Slate • Feb. 9, 2018

Snooty, the beloved Florida manatee, dies at 69:

From Washington Post • Jul. 24, 2017

Snooty critics might grumble about his folksy style, but it is hard to think of any other journalist who has explained as many complicated subjects to so many people.

From New York Times • Nov. 22, 2016

Then read this column, written by Charles Moore – Lord Snooty, to Private Eye readers – Margaret Thatcher's biographer and a clever, fastidious Etonian who makes David Cameron sound like a character from EastEnders.

From The Guardian • Nov. 28, 2012

That telegram qualified Snooty for the paresis ward.

From At Good Old Siwash by Fitch, George

Related Words

• arrogant
• condescending
• egotistical
• pompous
• snobbish