snarky
Americanadjective
-
testy or irritable; short.
-
having a rudely critical tone or manner.
snarky humor.
adjective
Other Word Forms
- snarkiness noun
Etymology
Origin of snarky
Explanation
A snarky comment is sarcastic and impertinent. It would be snarky to roll your eyes and yawn loudly while your friend is telling you the plot of a movie they really enjoyed. Snarky originally meant "cranky or bad-tempered." By the end of the 20th century, it took on the additional meaning of "irreverent or contemptuous." When you say something snarky, you're probably trying to be funny, but in a biting or mean way. If you're tempted to leave snarky comments on a website or whisper something snarky to your friend about a classmate, you may want to consider the adage, "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all!"
Vocabulary lists containing snarky
Falling Short
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Merci Suárez Plays It Cool
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Just Right Jillian
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The Girl Bosses, the pussy-hatted women at the “Women’s March,” the snarky bloggers and the comment section warriors and Lindy West herself—these were never the whole of millennial feminism.
From Slate • Mar. 31, 2026
If snarky remarks are emailed or direct-messaged to you, screenshot and print them out.
From MarketWatch • Feb. 28, 2026
At best, participants in these spectacles fielded snarky jibes about outdated fashion and unsightly grooming; at worst, they were vulnerable to manipulation and torment from the experts tasked with overseeing their transformations.
From Salon • Jan. 17, 2026
Some have a wonderfully snarky sense of humor as well.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 8, 2026
May started to say something snarky in reply, then stopped and looked at Jack closely.
From "Half Upon a Time" by James Riley
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
