What is "sneer"

Sneer \Sneer\, v. t.

1. To utter with a grimace or contemptuous expression; to utter with a sneer; to say sneeringly; as, to sneer fulsome lies at a person.
   --Congreve.

   ``A ship of fools,'' he sneered.
   --Tennyson.

2. To treat with sneers; to affect or move by sneers.

   Nor sneered nor bribed from virtue into shame.
   --Savage.

Sneer \Sneer\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Sneered; p. pr. & vb. n. Sneering.] [OE. sneren, Dan. sn?rre to snarl or grin (like a dog); cf. Prov. E. sneer to grin, sner to snort, snert to sneer at. See Snore, v. i.]

1. To show contempt by turning up the nose, or by a particular facial expression.

2. To inssinuate contempt by a covert expression; to speak derisively.

   I could be content to be a little sneared at.
   --Pope.

3. To show mirth awkwardly. [R.]
   --Tatler.

   Syn: To scoff; gibe; jeer.

   Usage: Sneer, Scoff, Jeer. The verb to sneer implies to cast contempt indirectly or by covert expressions. To jeer is stronger, and denotes the use of several sarcastic reflections. To scoff is stronger still, implying the use of insolent mockery and derision.

   And sneers as learnedly as they, Like females o'er their morning tea.
   --Swift.

   Midas, exposed to all their jeers, Had lost his art, and kept his ears.
   --Swift.

   The fop, with learning at defiance, Scoffs at the pedant and science.
   --Gay.

Sneer \Sneer\, n.

1. The act of sneering.

2. A smile, grin, or contortion of the face, indicative of contempt; an indirect expression or insinuation of contempt. ''Who can refute a sneer?''
   --Raley.

1550s, "to snort" (of horses), perhaps from North Frisian sneere "to scorn," related to Old English fnæran "to snort, gnash one's teeth," of imitative origin (compare Danish snærre "to grin like a dog," Middle Dutch, Middle High German snarren "to rattle"). Meaning "to smile contemptuously" is from 1670s; sense of "to curl the upper lip in scorn" is attested from 1775. Related: Sneered; sneering. Sneer word is in E. Digby Baltzell (1987).

1707, from sneer (v.).

n. 1 A facial expression where one slightly raises one corner of the upper lip, ''generally'' indicating scorn. 2 A display of contempt; scorn. vb. 1 (context intransitive English) To raise a corner of the upper lip slightly, ''especially'' in scorn 2 (context transitive English) To utter with a grimace or contemptuous expression; to say sneeringly.

1. n. a facial expression of contempt or scorn; the upper lip curls [syn: leer]

2. a contemptuous or scornful remark

3. v. express through a scornful smile; "she sneered her contempt"

4. smile contemptuously; "she sneered at her little sister's efforts to play the song on the piano"

Sneer is an American experimental music and award-winning filmmaking duo formed by Sarah Rivka and Tomas Seidita in Los Angeles, California.

A sneer is a facial expression of scorn or disgust characterized by a slight raising of one corner of the upper lip, known also as curling the lip or turning up the nose. In The Expression of Emotions in Man and Animals, Charles Darwin defined a "sneer" as "the upper lip being retracted in such a manner that the canine tooth on one side of the face alone is shown" Darwin related the sneer to the snarl observed in non-human animals, particularly carnivores, observing that:

It is suggested that the sneer is a universal expression of contempt and that Darwin was the first to observe this. Cats may be observed to sneer, though this is probably related to the Flehmen response.