Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of snobbish
Explanation
Someone who's snobbish makes it clear that he thinks he's better than most other people. Your snobbish cousin might refuse to borrow your rain coat because it looks "cheap." If you're snobbish, you believe there are different social classes of people, and that you belong to the highest one. A snobbish person might think that graduating from a certain college makes him better than others, or that having more money makes him superior to those with less. The root is snob, which evolved from meaning "shoemaker" in 1700's Britain to being university slang for "ordinary person who apes his social superiors" to "one who despises those he considers inferior."
Vocabulary lists containing snobbish
The Catcher in the Rye
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Ten Most Relevant Words: The Great Gatsby, Chapter 1
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Born a Crime
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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.
The Snobbish County Sheriff’s Office posted on Twitter the names of the victims who remain missing.
From New York Times • Apr. 1, 2014
Snobbish Mrs. Tiffany, by aping the extravagances of French society, drives her husband into forging.
From Time Magazine Archive
Snobbish, unscrupulous, selfish Career: Ambassador, ruler, organizer, religious AQUARIUS-The Waterman, Jan. 20-Feb.
From Time Magazine Archive
Snobbish and witty, he once said that "the books I haven't written are better than the books other people have."
From Time Magazine Archive
Snobbishness is vulgar—the mere words are not: that which we call a Snob, by any other name would still be Snobbish.
From The Book of Snobs by Thackeray, William Makepeace
Definitions 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.
