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 former is erudite, thorough and insightful; the latter snarky, unfiltered and frequently vulgar.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
Wilde’s Angela is expressive and antic; Rogen’s Joe is sullen and snarky.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 25, 2026
Jane's just a smart, snarky girl with too-curly hair.
From "Will Grayson, Will Grayson" by John Green and David Levithan
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
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
Take it a step snarkier and dismiss them as creaky — or even flat-out old.
From New York Times ● Nov. 12, 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
The snarkiest thing he ever publicly said about Steven Rattner, the protégé who some say pushed him out at the investment bank Lazard: “He is a social climber with no commitment to public service.”
From New York Times ● Dec. 20, 2019
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
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
