Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
😢 To whine 😢 A whine 🤧 To sniffle
snivel

snivel

1 9.3
A whining, tearful complaint
  • noun
  • /ˈsnɪvəl/
translation icon : lloriqueo
  • All of that can be summed up this way: Whine, whine, whine, snivel, snivel, snivel.

Examples

  • He let out a loud snivel as he recounted his troubles to his friends.

  • Snivels turned into sobs, which turned into pathetic howls.

    Fiction book (1996)

  • You are not invited! Go home and snivel.

    Blog text (18)

  • The sniveler has sniveled his finest snivel!

    Casper: A Spirited Beginning (1997)

  • The child's snivel during the movie made everyone feel a bit sorry for him.

  • Her constant snivel about the unfairness of the situation annoyed her classmates.

Synonyms

sniveling
vssnivel
  • Informal
12 7.7

A weak, tearful complaint that shows self-pity

is the same meaning but serves as the basic or original form
grumble
vssnivel
3 3.4

A quiet complaint about something you dislike

is more tearful and self pitying rather than low or indistinct
whininess
vssnivel
  • Informal
1 4.8

A kind of complaining that sounds annoying and childish in a high voice

is more about tearful self pity rather than childish high pitch
puling
vssnivel
  • Archaic
9.8

Crying or complaining in a weak, childish way

is more about tearful self pity than merely weak or childlike sound

How Whiny

whine
  • Informal
28 3.0
snivel
1 9.3
grumble
3 3.4
complaint
564 1.4

Surface Forms

snivel singular
snivels plural

Etymology

Snivel as a noun comes from the same old 'sniff' words and the verb, so a snivel is literally a small sniffing sound or the act of whining. That's why a 'snivel' means a soft, tearful complaint or whine.