snarky
Americanadjective
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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
And now that Ormund’s gone after being killed in the most unceremonious of ways, Aegon’s our best hope for some snarky humor a la Tyrion Lannister.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026
His often snarky takes have drawn criticism over the years from some celebrities, including Miley Cyrus, Khloe Kardashian, Mila Kunis and his former friend Lady Gaga.
From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026
As always, Murderbot is snarky and deadly but unsure of where it stands in the world of humans when it isn’t the one holding the gun.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 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
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
“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
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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.
