snuffy

American  

[snuhf-ee] / ˈsnʌf i /

adjective

snuffier, snuffiest

1. resembling snuff.

2. soiled with snuff.

3. given to the use of snuff.

4. having an unpleasant appearance.

5. having hurt feelings.

6. easily displeased.

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snuffy British  

/ ˈsnʌfɪ /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or resembling snuff

2. covered with or smelling of snuff

3. unpleasant; disagreeable

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Other Word Forms

• snuffiness
  noun

Etymology

Origin of snuffy

First recorded in 1780–90; snuff ¹ + -y ¹

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

snuffy snuffiest

Born in 1885, in a grimy coal-mining village in Nottingham shire, Lawrence soon grew, as he himself said, into "a delicate pale brat with a snuffy nose" who "trotted after his mother like a shadow."

From Time Magazine Archive

There was no doing any trade to speak of, and Lo Ben was in a very snuffy mood.

From The Triumph of Hilary Blachland by Mitford, Bertram

If they have put up long with the company of snuffy old men, they will know how to receive a man and a warrior;” and he stretched his limbs.

From The Golden Rock by Glanville, Ernest

The grand seigneur, imbued with every instinct of luxury and refinement, became a snuffy old hermit, uncared for, not properly waited on, feeding badly, and living in one room.

From The Heart of a Woman by Orczy, Emmuska Orczy, Baroness

And it gave me a queer feeling, I can tell you, to think of Elsie—my Elsie—teaching alongside that snuffy old badger.

From Deep Moat Grange by Crockett, S. R. (Samuel Rutherford)

“My sister-in-law’s guardian is an American artist with eccentric ideas about educating girls to see every phase of life,” said Judy in the stuffiest, snuffiest kind of voice.

From The Claw by Stockley, Cynthia

As for the Boston people, they resembled our good townsmen of Tryon County somewhat, though their clothes were of a more elegant cut, and even the snuffiest of them wore lace and buckles.

From Cardigan by Chambers, Robert W. (Robert William)