to snivel
- verb
- /ˈsnɪvəl/
- Melting and sniveling over Reynardo and Carrot Top.
Examples
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The baby started to snivel quietly as he wanted his mother's attention.
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By blow three, I was in full bawl, sucking air and sniveling.
Fiction book (1995) -
He stood up and began to bump into trees, coughing and sniveling from his nose.
Fiction book (1997) -
[women sniveling]
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After the fall, he sniveled softly while trying to catch his breath.
-
She sniveled into her tissue, not wanting anyone to notice her cold.
Synonyms
To breathe in through the nose to smell something or because of a cold
To breathe noisily through the nose, often because of a cold or crying
To breathe loudly through a blocked nose because of a cold or crying
To take small breaths in through the nose, often when sad or having a cold
Phrasal Verbs
How Loud
Surface Forms
Etymology
Snivel comes from old words for 'sniff' and sniffle, so it originally meant the small sounds you make with a runny nose. That's why snivel can mean to 'sniff' or to breathe mucus quietly up the nose, like someone who keeps on sniffing with a cold.