to sneap at
- phrasal verb
- UK
:
despreciar
- She would often sneap at her rivals with a sly remark.
Examples
-
Don't sneap at her just because she made a mistake!
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The children were taught not to sneap at those less fortunate than themselves.
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It is considered rude to sneap at others in public.
-
He always sneaps at my ideas during meetings.
-
It's unkind to sneap at your classmates when they make a mistake.
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During the debate, he couldn't help but sneap at his opponent's argument.
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She tends to sneap at anyone who disagrees with her opinion.
Synonyms
456
2.0
To make fun of someone in a mean way to show they are silly
108
4.6
To make someone look silly in a mean way so others laugh at them
57
6.5
To say or do things to show you do not respect someone
33
4.5
A quiet, partly hidden laugh that shows disrespect
11
7.7
To criticize someone in a sly, indirect way
4
8.4
To make sarcastic mocking remarks that are often rude
4
6.8
To laugh quietly to make fun of someone
4
8.1
To make quick, unfair critical remarks about someone or their ideas
To put your thumb on your nose and wiggle your fingers to show disrespect
To show you do not respect someone by putting your thumb to your nose and wiggling your fingers
Show openly that you do not respect someone, often by a rude gesture
Antonyms
How Scornful
Surface Forms
Morphology
sneap + at
The phrase is a straightforward combination of a verb + preposition: if a learner knows the verb 'sneap' meaning 'to sneer or mock', adding 'at' yields the obvious directed action 'to sneer at' following a common English pattern. Note that 'sneap' is very rare/archaic and absent from common dictionaries, so while the construction is compositional for someone who knows the constituents, most B1 learners would likely not know the verb itself.
Etymology
Sneap at may come from an old word sneap that meant to make a quick, sharp, mocking sound with the mouth. Thinking of that small, rude sound helps explain why sneap at now means 'to sneer at' or 'to mock someone'.