snuffy

American  

[snuhf-ee] / ˈsnʌf i /

adjective

snuffier, snuffiest

1. resembling snuff.

2. soiled with snuff.

3. given to the use of snuff.

4. having an unpleasant appearance.

5. having hurt feelings.

6. easily displeased.

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snuffy British  

/ ˈsnʌfɪ /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or resembling snuff

2. covered with or smelling of snuff

3. unpleasant; disagreeable

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Other Word Forms

• snuffiness
  noun

Etymology

Origin of snuffy

First recorded in 1780–90; snuff ¹ + -y ¹

Example Sentences

Born in 1885, in a grimy coal-mining village in Nottingham shire, Lawrence soon grew, as he himself said, into "a delicate pale brat with a snuffy nose" who "trotted after his mother like a shadow."

From Time Magazine Archive

Never mind what I said; it’s better than being a reader, and growing into a snuffy cantankerous old scarecrow like me.

From The Story of Antony Grace by Fenn, George Manville

Yesterday we went to a garden party, she, Martin, and I, and they schemed to send me off with a snuffy old man, so that they could be alone.

From An Unknown Lover by Vaizey, George de Horne, Mrs.

“We had to ride some to get ’em in––they’re sure snuffy.

From Rim o' the World by Fischer, Anton Otto

I met a lady who remembers the philosopher well, as a snuffy old gentleman, very fond of stroking her hair, and seeing her and another little girl practise their dancing lessons. 

From About London by Ritchie, J. Ewing (James Ewing)