snarky
Americanadjective
-
testy or irritable; short.
-
having a rudely critical tone or manner.
snarky humor.
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of snarky
Explanation
A snarky comment is sarcastic and impertinent. It would be snarky to roll your eyes and yawn loudly while your friend is telling you the plot of a movie they really enjoyed. Snarky originally meant "cranky or bad-tempered." By the end of the 20th century, it took on the additional meaning of "irreverent or contemptuous." When you say something snarky, you're probably trying to be funny, but in a biting or mean way. If you're tempted to leave snarky comments on a website or whisper something snarky to your friend about a classmate, you may want to consider the adage, "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all!"
Vocabulary lists containing snarky
Falling Short
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Merci Suárez Plays It Cool
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Just Right Jillian
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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 comment was made in response to a snarky Instagram user who accused Holly of undergoing plastic surgery, claiming that her “surgeon did an amazing job.”
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 11, 2026
The podcast they started years later was snarky and sharp but less polished.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 28, 2026
The snarky, sometimes petulant exchanges reflect how unsettled the race to replace termed-out Gov. Gavin Newsom is, as well as California’s outsize economic and political gravitas on the national and international stage.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 6, 2026
While there are still "snarky one-liners" and moments of wit in the sequel, the characters find themselves in a "whole new landscape", Blunt says.
From BBC ● May 1, 2026
Michael wanted to say something snarky, but he didn’t.
From "The First State of Being" by Erin Entrada Kelly
On social media, Villanueva — who was voted out of office himself four years after succeeding McDonnell — struck a snarkier tone.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2024
Ryan Grim, Washington bureau chief for The Intercept, was snarkier: “Can’t imagine why they didn’t want this screaming at their shoppers. Really unfair man.”
From Washington Times ● Jul. 6, 2023
Global leaders have been sending their congratulations to the UK's new Prime Minister, Liz Truss, but in the international media, there have been snarkier remarks, too.
From BBC ● Sep. 6, 2022
Take it a step snarkier and dismiss them as creaky — or even flat-out old.
From New York Times ● Nov. 12, 2017
“Everyone became an expert on what that moment represented — the snarkier, the better.”
From Washington Post ● Apr. 4, 2017
There's clearly a bright future for Yelena — who might just become the snarkiest, most delightfully sarcastic person in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, carrying on the legacy of her sister, the first female Avenger.
From Salon ● Jul. 19, 2021
He also delivers some of the show’s snarkiest, wonderfully flippant lines.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 31, 2020
Warning, though: Not even the snarkiest older sibling has anything on the caustic virtuosity of Oscar Levant, who serves as a vital counterpoint to the weightless joys of Gene Kelly and Leslie Caron.
From New York Times ● Feb. 13, 2015
Sometimes it feels like we must be the snarkiest, slangiest, least-formal generation in human history.
From The Guardian ● Jul. 1, 2014
And as fun as it is to watch Scandal on a second screen, even the snarkiest tweet is a poor substitute for the real, live, exasperated groans brought on by Olivia and Fitz’s toxic relationship.
From Slate ● Nov. 20, 2013
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.
