snippy

[ snip-ee ]

See synonyms for snippy on Thesaurus.com

adjective,snip·pi·er, snip·pi·est.

sharp or curt, especially in a supercilious or haughty way; impertinent.
scrappy or fragmentary.

Origin of snippy

First recorded in 1720–30; snip + -y¹

Also snip·pe·ty [snip-i-tee]. /ˈsnɪp ɪ ti/.

Other words from snippy

snip·pi·ly, adverb
snip·pi·ness, snip·pet·i·ness, noun

Words Nearby snippy

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use snippy in a sentence

Every time I asked about their arrangements so I could request vacation time, she got snippy with me, so I let it go.
Carolyn Hax: Would you let your best friend ‘copy’ your wedding? | Carolyn Hax | August 5, 2022 | Washington Post
If you didn’t know better, you might think Greene was a character played by Mink Stole, the Waters lifer who specializes in snippy villains.
America's Filth Elder John Waters Isn't Slowing Down | Judy Berman | February 17, 2022 | Time
You will save yourself a lot of mental anguish by not getting snippy with store personnel.
How to beat inflation and empty shelves this holiday shopping season | Michelle Singletary | November 19, 2021 | Washington Post
Saving Mr. Banks is more than a movie about a snippy curmudgeon who excels at amusing put downs.
‘Saving Mr. Banks’ Is This Oscar Season’s Breath of Fresh Air | Kevin Fallon | December 12, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
Look at the snippy press release HP put out in reaction to the deal for its rival.
Dell’s Unlikely Suitor: Behind Microsoft’s $2 Billion Buy In | Daniel Gross | February 5, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST

Starr remembered getting snippy with Ortega one time when she left the clothes in the laundry too long.
A New York Nanny Allegedly Kills Two Children and Neighbors Struggle to Understand | David Freedlander, Eliza Shapiro | October 27, 2012 | THE DAILY BEAST
It was a snippy sort of a look, Betty thought, that this girl directed toward her.
Betty Lee, Freshman | David Goodger (goodger@python.org)
The thing that I resent most is the mean remarks those snippy girls make about her.
The Girl Scouts at Camp Comalong | Lillian Garis
Surely that snippy little note, in which you call me—me, a perfect stranger—names!
Mavis of Green Hill | Faith Baldwin
"Yes, or when you're put in a snippy little room 'way at the top of the house with nothin' in it," growled Nancy.
Pollyanna | Eleanor H. Porter
Putty Doane was taken prisoner by the Germans atOh, see that gang of up-townersarent they snippy and patronizing and silly?
Out of the Air | Inez Haynes Irwin

British Dictionary definitions for snippy

snippy

/ (ˈsnɪpɪ) /

adjective-pier or -piest

scrappy; fragmentary
informal fault-finding

dialect mean; stingy

Derived forms of snippy

snippily, adverb
snippiness, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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