snarky
English edit
Etymology edit
snark + -y; 1906, as “irritable”, from snark (“to snort”), by onomatopoeia (1866). Compare Low German snarken (“to snore”), North Frisian snarke, Swedish snarka.[1] In the sense “sarcastic” popularized in the late 1990s.[2]
Pronunciation edit
Adjective edit
snarky (comparative snarkier, superlative snarkiest)
- (informal, often humorous) Snide and sarcastic; usually out of irritation.
- 2011 October 19, “You may know me as a snarky caption writer whose work went viral”, in The Guardian[1]:
- In spite of its inherent banality, and because my editors let me relieve my dyspepsia by writing snarky captions, it is regularly one of the more popular destinations on the Globe and Mail website.
- (obsolete) Irritable, irritated.
- Synonym: cranky
- 1918, C. J. Dennis, “Dad”, in Digger Smith:
- 'E barks. "I'll do me work meself, yeh 'ear?" An' then 'e gits so snarky that I clear.
Derived terms edit
Translations edit
sarcastic and irreverent
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References edit
- ^ Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “snarky”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
- ^ snarky_ADJ at Google Ngram Viewer
Further reading edit
- “snarky”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.