snuffy

[ snuhf-ee ]

/ ˈsnʌf i /

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adjective, snuff·i·er, snuff·i·est.

resembling snuff.

soiled with snuff.

given to the use of snuff.

having an unpleasant appearance.

having hurt feelings.

easily displeased.

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of snuffy

First recorded in 1780–90; snuff¹ + -y¹

OTHER WORDS FROM snuffy

snuff·i·ness, noun

Words nearby snuffy

snuff film, snuffle, snuff movie, snuff out, snuff stick, snuffy, snug, snug as a bug in a rug, snuggery, snuggies, snuggle

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

How to use snuffy in a sentence

Another snuffy figure with a stoop and a bald head and a pen came through a curtain.
It Is Never Too Late to Mend|Charles Reade
As for Halyard, he was unspeakable, bundled up in his snuffy shawls, and making uncouth noises over his gruel.
In Search of the Unknown|Robert W. Chambers
One indulges him with the hero of the piece: the small, ugly, irate, snuffy quadruped before mentioned.
Harper's New Monthly Magazine, No. VII, December 1850, Vol. II|Various
He was in his shirtsleeves—a respectable, snuffy old figure; evidently a man deliberate in words and thoughts and actions.
The Escape of Mr. Trimm|Irvin S. Cobb

Dame Bond, with her unsteady steps and her snuffy black gown, would have been preferable of the two.
The Shadow of Ashlydyat|Mrs. Henry Wood

British Dictionary definitions for snuffy

snuffy

/ (ˈsnʌfɪ) /

adjective snuffier or snuffiest

of, relating to, or resembling snuff

covered with or smelling of snuff

unpleasant; disagreeable

Derived forms of snuffy

snuffiness, 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