snivel

[ sniv-uh l ]

/ ˈsnɪv əl /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR snivel ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used without object), sniv·eled, sniv·el·ing or (especially British) sniv·elled, sniv·el·ling.

to weep or cry with sniffling.

to affect a tearful state; whine.

to run at the nose; have a runny nose: She sniveled from the cold.

to draw up mucus audibly through the nose: Stop sniveling and use your handkerchief.

verb (used with object), sniv·eled, sniv·el·ing or (especially British) sniv·elled, sniv·el·ling.

to utter with sniveling or sniffling.

noun

weak, whining, or pretended weeping.

a light sniffle, as in weeping.

a hypocritical show of feeling: a sentimental snivel.

mucus running from the nose.

snivels, a sniveling condition; a slight cold; sniffles (usually preceded by the).

Words nearby snivel

snips, snit, snitch, snitch line, snitchy, snivel, snively, sno-cat, snob, snob appeal, snobbery

Origin of snivel

1275–1325; Middle English snyvele; compare Old English snyflung (gerund), derivative of snofl mucus; cognate with Low German snüfeln

OTHER WORDS FROM snivel

sniv·el·er; especially British, sniv·el·ler, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for sniveling

And when you speak of sniveling Puritans, speak of them that do snivel.
Patriotic Plays and Pageants for Young People|Constance D'Arcy Mackay
What care have we for monastery bells and sniveling priests!
Vanished Halls and Cathedrals of France|George Warton Edwards
When Cook swore at him, he crawled on his knees and cried before him like a sniveling cur.
Hands Up; or Thirty-Five Years of Detective Life in the Mountains and on the Plains|D. J. Cook
I do hate to see a tall, stout fellow so sniveling like a girl of fourteen over a dead tomtit.
The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood|Howard Pyle

All, coughing and sniveling, dip their handkerchiefs into it and rub the moist rag over their hats and coats.
The Life of the Fly|J. Henri Fabre

British Dictionary definitions for sniveling

snivel

/ (ˈsnɪvəl) /

verb -els, -elling or -elled or US -els, -eling or -eled

(intr) to sniffle as a sign of distress, esp contemptibly

to utter (something) tearfully; whine

(intr) to have a runny nose

noun

an instance of snivelling

Derived forms of snivel

sniveller, nounsnivelling, adjective, nounsnivelly, adjective

Word Origin for snivel

C14 snivelen; related to Old English snyflung mucus, Dutch snuffelen to smell out, Old Norse snoppa snout

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

snivel

verb (used without object), sniv·eled, sniv·el·ing or (especially British) sniv·elled, sniv·el·ling.

verb (used with object), sniv·eled, sniv·el·ing or (especially British) sniv·elled, sniv·el·ling.

noun

Words related to snivel

Words nearby snivel

Origin of snivel

OTHER WORDS FROM snivel

Examples from the Web for sniveling

British Dictionary definitions for sniveling

verb -els, -elling or -elled or US -els, -eling or -eled

noun

Derived forms of snivel

Word Origin for snivel