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to snivel

to snivel

8.1
To draw mucus up through the nose quietly
  • verb
  • /ˈsnɪvəl/
translation icon : sorberse la nariz
  • Melting and sniveling over Reynardo and Carrot Top.

Examples

  • The baby started to snivel quietly as he wanted his mother's attention.

  • 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]

  • 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 sniff
vsto snivel
266 1.0

To breathe in through the nose to smell something or because of a cold

draws mucus inward quietly rather than inhaling mainly to smell
to sniffle
vsto snivel
18 2.3

To breathe noisily through the nose, often because of a cold or crying

draws mucus inward quietly rather than creating noisy breaths
to snuffle
vsto snivel
1 6.2

To breathe loudly through a blocked nose because of a cold or crying

draws mucus inward quietly rather than producing noisy congested breathing
to sniffles
vsto snivel
2.8

To take small breaths in through the nose, often when sad or having a cold

draws mucus inward quietly rather than making brief inhalations

Phrasal Verbs

to snivel over
  • Informal
8.6

To complain in a sad, self-pitying way about small problems

How Loud

to sneeze
66 1.0
to sniffle
18 2.3
to snivel
8.1
sniff
84 1.1

Surface Forms

snivel infinitive
sniveled past
sniveled past participle
sniveling present participle
snivels third person singular

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.