snappish

[snap-ish]

adjective

1. apt to snap or bite, as a dog.

2. disposed to speak or reply in an impatient or irritable manner.

3. impatiently or irritably sharp; curt.

   a snappish reply.

Other Word Forms

• snappishly adverb
• snappishness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of snappish¹

First recorded in 1535–45; snap + -ish ¹

Example Sentences

As a result, their caretakers and fellow creatures give them a wide berth, which only makes them more lonely, mistrustful, and snappish than before.

Read more on Literature

Full of snappy and snappish dialogue, the book imagines a carnival-esque week’s idyll in the “shantytown of millionaires” that was 1950s Malibu.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Sometimes he was snappish, and sometimes just whiny, but always bristling.

Read more on Salon

DeSantis is a historically bad candidate, snappish and known for eating pudding with his fingers.

Read more on Salon

That means that when characters are being snappish, they lack the charm that should keep us rooting for them.

Read more on Washington Post