Skip to content
ontologydriven
Sign out

Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

snooty en · ADJ

Pronunciation

  • (General-American) audio
  • /ˈsnuti/ (General-American)
  • (Southern-England) audio
  • [-ɾi] (General-American)
  • /ˈsnuːti/ (Received-Pronunciation)

Etymology

The adjective is derived from snoot (“(UK, dialectal, and slang) snout; nose”) + -y (suffix forming adjectives meaning ‘having the quality of’), probably referring to a snobbish person often having their nose in the air (that is, acting disdainfully towards others). Snoot is a dialectal variant of snout. The noun is derived from the adjective.

Meanings

  1. (informal) Haughty, pompous, snobbish; inclined to turn up one's nose.
    • Sir Sydney was an arrogant, snooty, bigoted prig, so it was with some satisfaction that I wrote out his parking ticket.
    • I didn't like the way you looked at May Arnold, or the snooty way you talked. 1922, Sinclair Lewis, chapter XX, in Babbitt, New York, N.Y.: Harcourt, Brace and Company, →OCLC, section I, page 252:
    • Look, I know it's tough for you at school right now, but you're awesome. And anybody that gets to know you loves you, even snooty assholes. I should probably be worried about some fancy rich dude stealing you away from me. 2018, Robia Rashid, “Penguin Cam and Chill” (13:34 from the start), in Ryan Case, director, Atypical, season 2, episode 2, spoken by Evan (Graham Rogers), via Netflix:
    • ever since she landed the National gig she's got very snooty about struggling theatre mates, as if she alone has discovered the secret to being successful 2019, Bernardine Evaristo, “Chapter 1 [Yazz]”, in Girl, Woman, Other, London: Penguin Books, →ISBN, page 43:
  2. (broadly, informal) Of an event, a thing, etc.: elite, exclusive.
    • The Mercury for 1959 firmly establishes itself as Ford Motor's flashy centerpiece in the middle-price field. […] It's snootier than the Edsel—and snootier than it was, itself, in 1958. 1958 December, Devon Francis, “What’s New with Edsel, Mercury, Lincoln”, in Howard Allaway, editor, The Popular Science Monthly, volume 173, number 6, New York, N.Y.: Popular Science Publishing Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 78, column 1:
    • Her parties were snooty affairs; custom-designed cocktail dresses that cost more than a decent luxury car were de rigueur.
    • I grew up a privileged princess in Nob Hill, the snootiest neighborhood in San Francisco. My father's family had so much money they didn't know what to do with it. 2017, Janice Sims, One Fine Day (An Arabesque Novel), New York, N.Y.: Kimani Press, page 128:
  3. (broadly, informal, uncommon) Easily angered or irritated; irritable, short-tempered.

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
snootier Degree=Cmp lexicographic
snootiest Degree=Sup lexicographic

Antonyms

demure · verecund · modest · humble · diffident · poor · abased · resigned · self-effacing · low · humble-hearted · mild · unpretentious · lowly · meek

Deriveds

snootiness · snootily · snoot

Synonyms

thrasonical · priggish · inflated · overbearing · hankty · airy · snotty · pompous · hubristic · hubristical · ostentatious · sanctimonious · insolent · blustery · toplofty · snooty · turgescent · cocky · boastful · authoritarian · lordly · domineering · uppy · conceited · hoity-toity · haughty · egotistical · toploftical · haught · bombastic · vain · upstage · thrasonic · tumid · high-handed · turgid · grandiose · orgulous · entitled · imperious · presumptuous · holier-than-thou · overweening · chesty · supercilious · haut · uppity · stuck up · highfalutin · big-headed · high-hat · stout · la-di-da · flatulent · uppish · pretentious · puffed up · full of oneself · self-important · disdainful · snobbish · arrogant · glorious · buggish · biggity · high and mighty · flaunting

Translations (17)

cs snobský (haughty, pompous, snobbish — see also haughty, pompous, snobbish) · ru высокоме́рный (haughty, pompous, snobbish — see also haughty, pompous, snobbish) · pt esnobe (haughty, pompous, snobbish — see also haughty, pompous, snobbish) · mi tū te ihu (haughty, pompous, snobbish — see also haughty, pompous, snobbish) · cs nafoukaný (haughty, pompous, snobbish — see also haughty, pompous, snobbish) · es estirado (haughty, pompous, snobbish — see also haughty, pompous, snobbish) · es presuntuoso (haughty, pompous, snobbish — see also haughty, pompous, snobbish) · fi leuhka (haughty, pompous, snobbish — see also haughty, pompous, snobbish) · el ακατάδεκτος (haughty, pompous, snobbish — see also haughty, pompous, snobbish) · cs nadutý (haughty, pompous, snobbish — see also haughty, pompous, snobbish) · fi koppava (haughty, pompous, snobbish — see also haughty, pompous, snobbish) · bg сно́бски (haughty, pompous, snobbish — see also haughty, pompous, snobbish) · de hochnäsig (haughty, pompous, snobbish — see also haughty, pompous, snobbish) · bg високоме́рен (haughty, pompous, snobbish — see also haughty, pompous, snobbish) · pt presunçoso (haughty, pompous, snobbish — see also haughty, pompous, snobbish) · cs namyšlený (haughty, pompous, snobbish — see also haughty, pompous, snobbish) · ru презри́тельный (haughty, pompous, snobbish — see also haughty, pompous, snobbish)

snooty en · NOUN

Pronunciation

  • (General-American) audio
  • /ˈsnuti/ (General-American)
  • (Southern-England) audio
  • [-ɾi] (General-American)
  • /ˈsnuːti/ (Received-Pronunciation)

Etymology

The adjective is derived from snoot (“(UK, dialectal, and slang) snout; nose”) + -y (suffix forming adjectives meaning ‘having the quality of’), probably referring to a snobbish person often having their nose in the air (that is, acting disdainfully towards others). Snoot is a dialectal variant of snout. The noun is derived from the adjective.

Meanings

  1. (informal, uncommon) Synonym of snoot (“an elitist or snobbish person”).
    • Because you never hung around with the city snooties like I did, scooping up the council gossip. 2005 February, Tara K. Harper, chapter XVIII, in Wolf in Night (Tales of the Wolves; 7), New York, N.Y.: Ballantine Books, →ISBN, page 193:
    • I don't care a whole lot for the snooty people. […] Yup, the snooties are a pain in the—uh—rear end—but at least you know where they're coming from. The phonies are the actors. They play whatever role meets their own selfish needs. 2013, Stan Poel, chapter 3, in Of Souls and Patriots, Bloomington, Ind.: WestBow Press, Thomas Nelson, →ISBN, page 34:
    • Well there was always cliques as far as that goes. You had your snooties and dooties, and people that were down to earth, and it's mixed. 1993, Elizabeth Lapovsky Kennedy, Madeline D. Davis, quoting D. J., “‘Maybe ’cause Things Were Harder … You Had to Be More Friendly’: Race and Class in the Lesbian Community of the 1950s”, in Boots of Leather, Slippers of Gold: The History of a Lesbian Community, New York, N.Y.; London: Routledge, →ISBN, page 113:

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
snooties Number=Plur lexicographic

Synonyms

snoot