different between snuggle vs snug

English

Etymology

First attested in 1687. snug +? -le (frequentative suffix); spelt with doubled ‘g’ to clarify pronunciation.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?sn???l/
• Rhymes: -???l

Noun

snuggle (plural snuggles)

1. An affectionate hug.
2. The final remnant left in a liquor bottle.

Synonyms

• (hug): cuddle
• (final remnant in bottle): sip

Verb

snuggle (third-person singular simple present snuggles, present participle snuggling, simple past and past participle snuggled)

1. (transitive, intransitive) To lie close to another person or thing, hugging or being cosy.

   Sometimes my girlfriend and I snuggle.

   The surrounding buildings snuggled each other.

   The last drop of jager snuggled the corner of the pint.

   • 1922, Margery Williams, The Velveteen Rabbit:

     And when the Boy dropped off to sleep, the Rabbit would snuggle down close under his little warm chin and dream, with the Boy's hands clasped close round him all night long.

2. To move or arrange oneself in a comfortable and cosy position.

   Tired but satisfied, the children snuggled into their sleeping bags.

   The pet dog snuggles into its new bed.

Synonyms

• cuddle

Translations

Derived terms

English

Etymology

From dialectal English snug (“tight, handsome”), maybe from Proto-Norse *snaggwuz. Compare Icelandic snöggur (“smooth”), Danish snög (“neat”), Swedish snygg.

Pronunciation

• enPR: sn?g, IPA^(key): /sn??/
• Rhymes: -??

Adjective

snug (comparative snugger, superlative snuggest)

1. Warm and comfortable; cosy.

   I felt snug tucked up in my snug bed.

   • 1853, Melville, Herman, Bartleby, the Scrivener, in Billy Budd, Sailor and Other Stories, New York: Penguin Books, 1968; reprint 1995 as Bartleby, ?ISBN, page 2:

     I am one of those unambitious lawyers who never addresses a jury, or in any way draws down public applause; but, in the cool tranquillity of a snug retreat, do a snug business among rich men's bonds, and mortgages, and title-deeds.

2. Satisfactory.
   • 1853, Melville, Herman, Bartleby, the Scrivener, in Billy Budd, Sailor and Other Stories, New York: Penguin Books, 1968; reprint 1995 as Bartleby, ?ISBN, page 2:

     I am one of those unambitious lawyers who never addresses a jury, or in any way draws down public applause; but, in the cool tranquillity of a snug retreat, do a snug business among rich men's bonds, and mortgages, and title-deeds.

3. Close-fitting.
4. Close; concealed; not exposed to notice.
   • 1733, Jonathan Swift, On Poetry, a Rhapsody

     Lie snug, and hear what criticks say.

Synonyms

• (warm and comfortable): comfy, cosy/cozy, cushy, gemütlich
• (satisfactory): acceptable, good enough; see also Thesaurus:satisfactory
• (close-fitting): clingy, figure-hugging, form-fitting; see also Thesaurus:close-fitting
• (concealed): covered, tect; see also Thesaurus:hidden

Derived terms

• snuggish
• snugly
• snug as a bug in a rug

Related terms

• snuggle
• snuggly

Translations

Noun

snug (plural snugs)

1. (Britain) A small, comfortable back room in a pub.
2. (engineering) A lug.

Translations

See also

• lounge bar
• public bar
• saloon bar
• vault

Verb

snug (third-person singular simple present snugs, present participle snugging, simple past and past participle snugged)

1. (transitive) To make secure or snug.
   • 1967, William F. Nolan and George Clayton Johnson, Logan's Run, May 1976 Bantam edition, ?ISBN, page 15:

     He snugged his Gun into its tunic holster, checked the scope on his Follower and left the room.

2. To snuggle or nestle.
3. (transitive) To make smooth.

Anagrams

• Ngus, Sung, Ungs, gnus, guns, nugs, sung