as in to whimper
to complain or cry in an annoying way
The child sniveled until he got his way.
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Recent Examples of snivel
But when Aurelius informs his son, Commodus (a sniveling Joaquin Phoenix), the latter murders his father before the decision is made public.
—
Lisa De Los Reyes, The Hollywood Reporter, 18 Dec. 2024
But Sarah had only driven about a block before Jamie called to snivel out an apology.
—Charlie Mason, TVLine, 24 Nov. 2024
Tom Felton, who played the sniveling Slytherin in every Potter film, wrote a tribute to the actress on Instagram.
—Wesley Stenzel, EW.com, 28 Sep. 2024
Still, the war between the virtuous Autobots and the sniveling Decepticons has enough sheer weirdness to it to serve as inspiration for compelling fiction, even if Michael Bay has never managed to crack that code.
—Wilson Chapman, IndieWire, 12 Sep. 2024
But any hopes of a warm and fuzzy family reunion were dashed in the Season 3 finale, when Soldier Boy called Homelander weak and sniveling.
—Vlada Gelman, TVLine, 18 July 2024
Gollum feels some guilt, finally Photo: New Line Cinema
Serkis does a fantastic job in The Two Towers bouncing back and forth between the aggressive and conniving Gollum and the needy and sniveling Smeagol as the creature grows close to Frodo but is also increasingly drawn to the One Ring.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 14 Feb. 2024
And is too much to have the sniveling Scots swim coach (Christopher Eccleston) actually heave a radio through the nearest window pane at a key moment?
—Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune, 31 May 2024
Like what, low-crawling out of town like a bunch of sniveling cowards?
—Nick Canepa, San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 Feb. 2024
Lisa De Los Reyes, The Hollywood Reporter, 18 Dec. 2024
But Sarah had only driven about a block before Jamie called to snivel out an apology.
—Charlie Mason, TVLine, 24 Nov. 2024
Tom Felton, who played the sniveling Slytherin in every Potter film, wrote a tribute to the actress on Instagram.
—Wesley Stenzel, EW.com, 28 Sep. 2024
Still, the war between the virtuous Autobots and the sniveling Decepticons has enough sheer weirdness to it to serve as inspiration for compelling fiction, even if Michael Bay has never managed to crack that code.
—Wilson Chapman, IndieWire, 12 Sep. 2024
But any hopes of a warm and fuzzy family reunion were dashed in the Season 3 finale, when Soldier Boy called Homelander weak and sniveling.
—Vlada Gelman, TVLine, 18 July 2024
Gollum feels some guilt, finally Photo: New Line Cinema
Serkis does a fantastic job in The Two Towers bouncing back and forth between the aggressive and conniving Gollum and the needy and sniveling Smeagol as the creature grows close to Frodo but is also increasingly drawn to the One Ring.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 14 Feb. 2024
And is too much to have the sniveling Scots swim coach (Christopher Eccleston) actually heave a radio through the nearest window pane at a key moment?
—Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune, 31 May 2024
Like what, low-crawling out of town like a bunch of sniveling cowards?
—Nick Canepa, San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 Feb. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for snivel
Verb
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This makes Solo an interesting foil for Nichols, a whimpering man-child to her hypercompetent and quiet loner.—
Nicholas Quah,
Vulture,
17 Jan. 2025
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That said, the whimpering Chamberlain still gives me the heebie-jeebies.—
Ollie Barder,
Forbes,
29 Dec. 2024
Verb
-
The trailer opens with a clip of Lizzo sobbing while looking at the camera over the eerie sound of a flute playing.—
Tomás Mier,
Rolling Stone,
14 Feb. 2025
-
While some of Lively’s complaints to Wayfarer and Sony include accusing Baldoni of sage-purifying Lively’s employees, sobbing over unflattering paparazzi photos of her, and claiming to psychically speak to her dead father (if Nicepool did all that, it would have been considered too over the top).—
James Hibberd,
The Hollywood Reporter,
11 Feb. 2025
Verb
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On March 20, 2006, Tanya cried at work and told Joe that her real name was Tanya Kach, not Nikki Allen and that Hose had been holding her captive.—
Jessica Sager,
People.com,
10 Feb. 2025
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And in hard moments, Alex would scream, cry or run to crawl onto my lap.—
Alicia Simba,
The Mercury News,
9 Feb. 2025
Verb
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Now even Sean McDermott, coach of the Bills team that lost to the Chiefs last Sunday in the AFC championship games, is running with the crowd and whining that a team having the kind of extraordinary run the Chiefs are having doesn’t get here without the refs.—
Mike Lupica,
New York Daily News,
1 Feb. 2025
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Walter Lippmann in Public Opinion whines about this.—
Sean Illing,
Vox,
1 Feb. 2025
Verb
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There was so much pre- match negativity and expecting Arsenal to turn us over and moaning about the transfer window as if the club didn’t want to buy players.—
Chris Waugh,
The Athletic,
6 Feb. 2025
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First, a woman near the forge will be moaning about the blacksmith.—
Anders Fogh Rasmussen,
Newsweek,
4 Feb. 2025
Verb
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When prospective recruits were asked to drop and do five pushups, many groaned and struggled, unable to complete the task.—
Dexter Filkins,
The New Yorker,
3 Feb. 2025
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The film played like a real-deal thriller, the people around me screaming and groaning and laughing and shielding their eyes.—
Fran Hoepfner,
Vulture,
31 Jan. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near snivel
Cite this Entry
“Snivel.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/snivel. Accessed 21 Feb. 2025.
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