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:
Savor a celebrity rumor that was too good to be true: For a moment this week, it seemed like Channing Tatum was using a burner Instagram account to leave snarky comments on his ex’s posts.
From Slate ● Sep. 24, 2026
"It's not about the most clever comments, fake AI garbage or snarky tweets," she said.
From BBC ● Sep. 7, 2026
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
Non-soccer fans might enjoy the snarky dialogue and bare-knuckled machinations — it plays like a Spanish-language, soccer-themed “Succession” or “Marty Supreme.”
From Los Angeles Times ● May 28, 2026
All I really knew about her was that she had the most amazing leg extension I’d ever seen, the highest scores in our grade, and she was snarky.
From "Auggie & Me" by R. J. Palacio
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
Landon’s tale, based on a snarkier short story by Geoff Manaugh, presents Ernest as the first viral video proof-of-afterlife — an odd situation for an unassuming chap who passed away before the invention of Pong.
From New York Times ● Feb. 23, 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
That real, profound loss may be why the criticism of this new movie and its irreverent, snarkier tone has felt so impassioned.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 14, 2022
Recently, a growing proportion of the airborne flotilla has been made up of inflated condoms or party balloons bearing celebratory texts, both considered sturdier — not to mention snarkier — than conventional balloons.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 18, 2018
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
He’s both the snarkiest of the major networks’ late-night hosts and a TV classicist at heart, the sort of roastmaster and toastmaster who could spike the punchbowl without tipping it completely over.
From New York Times ● Sep. 19, 2016
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.
