sneer

«sneer» in Mova's school dictionary: to smile or speak in an unkind way that shows you think… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 4 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

part of speech

verb (sneer, sneers, sneered, sneering); noun (a sneer, sneers)

meaning for a pupil

1) To sneer is to smile or speak in an unkind way that shows you think someone or something is not good enough. tree →

2) A sneer is that unkind, mocking smile, often with one side of the lip lifted. tree →

3) To sneer at something is to make fun of it as if it were worthless. tree →

sense in the lessons

In stories a sneer marks a proud, mean or bullying character; the reader learns the person feels better than others. In lessons about kindness, sneering is a kind of disrespect and a sign of bullying. Phrases: sneer at, with a sneer, a sneering voice.

examples

• The bully sneered at my old trainers. tree →
• «Is that the best you can do?» he said with a sneer. tree →
• The villain's face twisted into a sneer. tree →
• Don't sneer at other people's drawings. tree →
• She sneered when he dropped the ball. tree →
• Some people sneered at the idea, but it worked. tree →
• His sneer made Tom feel small. tree →
• The rich man sneered at the poor farmer. tree →
• “Lots of little boys,” sneered Liza. tree →

note

Use «sneer at» someone or something. Past form: sneered. A sneer is not the same as a grin or a smirk: a grin is friendly; a smirk is a self-pleased smile; a sneer is scornful. Countable noun: a sneer, sneers.

In the corpora

• Liking or disliking a purple door is an opinion, not news; sneering at people for it is unkind.
• Some girls sneer «Princess Lily» because her hair is neat and her books are tidy.
• Lily is worried about «telling tales», because that is what the boys sneer at.
• Ava doesn't sneer; she sets up two seed trays instead.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «sneer» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.