different between snarky vs snappish

English

Etymology

snark +? -y; 1906, as “irritable”, from snark (“to snort”), by onomatopoeia (1866). Compare Low German snarken (“to snore”), North Frisian snarke, Swedish snarka. In the sense “sarcastic” popularized in the late 1990s.

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /?sn??.ki/
• (UK) IPA^(key): /?sn??.ki/

Adjective

snarky (comparative snarkier, superlative snarkiest)

1. (informal, often humorous) Snide and sarcastic; usually out of irritation.
2. (obsolete) Irritable, irritated.

   Synonym: cranky

Derived terms

• snark (noun)
• snarkily
• snarkism
• snarkiness

Translations

Further reading

• “snarky”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–present.

References

Anagrams

• Karsyn

English

Etymology

snap +? -ish.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?snæp??/
• Rhymes: -æp??
• Hyphenation: snap?pish

Adjective

snappish (comparative more snappish, superlative most snappish)

1. Likely to snap or bite.

   A snappish cur

   • 1877, Anna Sewell, Black Beauty Chapter 22[1]

     "She came to us snappish and suspicious, but when she found what sort of place ours was, it all went off by degrees

2. Exhibiting irritation or impatience; curt; irascible.
   • 1990, Nora Roberts, Taming Natasha, Silhouette Books (2011), ?ISBN, unnumbered page:

     She heard her own voice, snappish and rude, and pressed a hand to her head.

   • 2011, Lynne McTaggart, The Bond, Simon & Schuster (2011), ?ISBN, page 91:

     Even though the woman didn't work closely with Barsade, so palpable was her complaining and snappish temperament that it had infected everyone who worked around her.

   • 2011, Mary Doria Russell, Doc, Random House (2011), ?ISBN, page 173:

     There was something underneath her snappish belligerence that made him feel protective and tolerant.

Derived terms

• snappishly
• snappishness

Translations