snooty

Snooty means snobby. It’s typically used to describe a person who thinks they have better taste or higher standards than other people and treats them in a condescending way because of it.

Snooty is always used negatively. It’s often used to describe people that exclude others, typically due to the perception that others are not good enough. Snooty isn’t only applied to people—you can call a restaurant snooty, for example, if it’s overly exclusive.

A snooty person can be called a snoot, which means the same thing as snob. But the adjective snooty is much more commonly used than the noun snoot.

Example: The kids in my class are so snooty—they all just stick to their own cliques and don’t try to make friends with anyone else.

The first records of snooty come from around 1920. Its base word, snoot, is recorded earlier, in the 1860s, and is simply a variant of the word snout, meaning “the nose or muzzle of an animal.” The word snout comes from the German Schnauze, which is also the basis of schnauzer, a name for a type of dog. (The slang word schnoz, referring to a big nose, is probably related.)

Fittingly, snooty people look down their nose at others—or turn up their nose at them. The adjective snotty can mean the same thing as snooty, and the word snot can also refer to a snob. Both snot and snotty are also nose-related, deriving from the German schneuzen, “to blow one’s nose.”

What are some other forms related to snooty? 

• snootier (comparative adjective)
• snootiest (superlative adjective)
• snootiness (noun)
• snootily (adverb)
• snoot (noun)

What are some synonyms for snooty?

• snobby
• snobbish
• snotty
• elitist

What are some words that share a root or word element with snooty? 

• snout
• schnauzer

What are some words that often get used in discussing snooty?

• snob
• rude
• condescending
• exclusive
• arrogant
• unfriendly

Snooty is always used negatively. Don’t be snooty.

Reading this excellent book has made me listen to Suede's first album and to Dog Man Star for the first time for years. And, you know what? They both sound great. I really can't remember why I was so snooty about them the first time round. https://t.co/oEW5uHSSuj

— Hugo Collingridge (@Chorltonian) July 30, 2020

I spent 1996-2001 being extremely snooty about every web page that didn't include a DTD declaration at the top despite the fact that this made no difference to anything.

— Laurie Voss (@seldo) May 29, 2019

Caddies accuse 'America's snootiest golf club' of stiffing them https://t.co/R4NoQrsqzY pic.twitter.com/gxSFRg4pdV

— New York Post (@nypost) June 13, 2020

Which of the following words is a synonym of snooty?

A. snotty
B. snobby
C. snobbish
D. all of the above