snivel

1 of 2

verb

sniv·​el ˈsni-vəl 

sniveled or snivelled; sniveling or snivelling ˈsni-və-liŋ 

ˈsniv-liŋ

intransitive verb

1

: to run at the nose

2

: to snuff mucus up the nose audibly : snuffle

3

: to cry or whine with snuffling

4

: to speak or act in a whining, sniffling, tearful, or weakly emotional manner

sniveler

ˈsni-və-lər 

ˈsniv-lər

noun

snivel

2 of 2

noun

1

snivels plural, dialect : head cold

2

: an act of sniveling

Did you know?

There's never been anything pretty about sniveling. Snivel, which originally meant simply "to have a runny nose," has an Old English ancestor whose probable form was snyflan. Its lineage includes some other charming words of yore: an Old English word for mucus, snofl; the Middle Dutch word for a head cold, snof; the Old Norse word for snout, which is snoppa; and nan, a Greek verb meaning "to flow." Nowadays, we mostly use snivel as we have since the 1600s: when self-pitying whining is afoot, whether or not such sniveling is accompanied by unchecked nasal flow.

Examples of snivel in a Sentence

Verb

millionaires sniveling about their financial problems

“Woe is me,” she sniveled.

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

But when Aurelius informs his son, Commodus (a sniveling Joaquin Phoenix), the latter murders his father before the decision is made public. —Lisa De Los Reyes, The Hollywood Reporter, 18 Dec. 2024

But Sarah had only driven about a block before Jamie called to snivel out an apology. —Charlie Mason, TVLine, 24 Nov. 2024

Tom Felton, who played the sniveling Slytherin in every Potter film, wrote a tribute to the actress on Instagram. —Wesley Stenzel, EW.com, 28 Sep. 2024

Still, the war between the virtuous Autobots and the sniveling Decepticons has enough sheer weirdness to it to serve as inspiration for compelling fiction, even if Michael Bay has never managed to crack that code. —Wilson Chapman, IndieWire, 12 Sep. 2024

But any hopes of a warm and fuzzy family reunion were dashed in the Season 3 finale, when Soldier Boy called Homelander weak and sniveling. —Vlada Gelman, TVLine, 18 July 2024

Gollum feels some guilt, finally Photo: New Line Cinema Serkis does a fantastic job in The Two Towers bouncing back and forth between the aggressive and conniving Gollum and the needy and sniveling Smeagol as the creature grows close to Frodo but is also increasingly drawn to the One Ring. —Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 14 Feb. 2024

And is too much to have the sniveling Scots swim coach (Christopher Eccleston) actually heave a radio through the nearest window pane at a key moment? —Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune, 31 May 2024

Like what, low-crawling out of town like a bunch of sniveling cowards? —Nick Canepa, San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 Feb. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English, from Old English *snyflan; akin to Dutch snuffelen to snuffle, snuffen to sniff

First Known Use

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

1600, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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Kids Definition

snivel

verb

sniv·​el

ˈsniv-əl

sniveled or snivelled; sniveling or snivelling

-(ə-)liŋ

1

: to draw mucus up the nose loud enough to be heard

2

: to cry or whine with sniffling

3

: to speak or act in a whining manner

sniveler

-(ə-)lər

noun