subtweet

American  

[suhb-tweet] / ˈsʌbˌtwit /

noun

1. (on the Twitter website) a hostile or otherwise negative post that is addressed to or about a particular person but does not mention the person’s username or does not name the person at all.

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verb (used with or without object)

1. to post such a message or tweet about (someone) on Twitter.

   I wish she’d stop subtweeting and talk to me in person.

Usage

What does subtweet mean? A subtweet is a negative post on the social media site Twitter, targeting a certain person without directly mentioning them or their username.

Other Word Forms

• subtweeter noun

Etymology

Origin of subtweet

2009; sub(liminal) + tweet (in the sense “a message posted on Twitter”)

Example Sentences

These details are both important and relevant to the figurative subtweet Bravo is sending through “Zola.”

From Salon

By the way, I don’t think there’s anything in the liberals’ opinion that’s strident—that feels like an entirely unwarranted subtweet.

From Slate

Compound words are on the rise in the book with deadname, pageview, fintech, allyship, babymoon and subtweet.

From Seattle Times

“Hours in Silence” is a master class in Drake’s self-eviscerations and recriminations: “There’s three sides to the story, girl/The one you subtweet, the one your group chat gets to read, the one you come and tell to me.”

From New York Times

The US Holocaust Museum, in what was interpreted as a subtweet at Goldberg, wrote: "Racism was central to Nazi ideology. Jews were not defined by religion, but by race. Nazi racist beliefs fuelled genocide and mass murder."

From BBC