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View synonyms for snob

snob

[ snob ]

noun

  1. a person who imitates, cultivates, or slavishly admires social superiors and is condescending or overbearing to others.
  2. a person who claims to be an expert or connoisseur in a given field and is condescending toward or disdainful of those who hold other opinions or have different tastes regarding this field:

    a musical snob.



snob

/ snɒb /

noun

    1. a person who strives to associate with those of higher social status and who behaves condescendingly to others Compare inverted snob
    2. ( as modifier )

      snob appeal

  1. a person having similar pretensions with regard to his tastes, etc

    an intellectual snob

“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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Derived Forms

  • ˈsnobbishly, adverb
  • ˈsnobbery, noun
  • ˈsnobbishness, noun
  • ˈsnobby, adjective
  • ˈsnobbish, adjective
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Other Words From

  • an·ti·snob noun
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Word History and Origins

Origin of snob1

First recorded in 1775–85; origin uncertain; first used as a nickname for “a cobbler or cobbler's apprentice,” hence “a townsman, someone of low class or lacking good breeding, commoner,” hence ”someone who imitates persons of higher rank”
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Word History and Origins

Origin of snob1

C18 (in the sense: shoemaker; hence, C19: a person who flatters those of higher station, etc): of unknown origin
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Example Sentences

Matteo Salvini, leader of the populist right-wing Lega party and a notorious promoter of anti-immigration laws, called him “the champion of the left-wing snobs.”

From Time

Despite the fact that I can be a snob about audio quality, I genuinely love the experience of listening to music with smart glasses.

Via the Harlem Cultural Festival, which even a music snob like me didn’t even know about.

From Time

I wanted to bridge the gaps between the serious music snob, the audiophile, and the casual listener, a task on which Kay was eager to advise.

So we try not to be honey snobs, but we do want people to understand there’s a difference, and what we consume does matter.

From Eater

You write a lot about how you were a jerk or a snob when it came to comedy or film.

Read another way, she is a horrible mother, an uptight snob, and a bit of a shrew.

Surely, an unreconstructed snob could misconstrue much more.

What a snob ... Oh, I understand why he wants you to go to college.

He was educated, like Fleming, at Eton, but unlike his creator, he was no snob.

Perhaps, like father, I am a snob at heart and liked the sensation of a sort of artistic alliance with the British aristocracy.

"I and Disraeli put up at the same tavern last night," said a dandified snob, the other day.

The three children call him the "Party Bird" for he is always so dressed up, but their father says he is "a bit of a snob."

Or perhaps a species of snob who cannot see the difference between his own foolishness and the foolishness of others.

She knew him quite well for an ill-bred little snob at heart.

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snivelysnob appeal