---
title: sneer — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «sneer» in the school dictionary: To sneer is to smile or speak in an unkind way that shows you think someone or something is not good enough. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

<!-- md -->
[Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sneer/)

<!-- crumbs -->
[home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/) / [dictionaries](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/) / [school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/) / [S](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/) / sneer

# sneer

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** unkind way, you, someone, sneer, lip, fun · **What happens:** sneer, be, speak, show, think, not be · **To what, where:** unkind way, smile, something, old trainers, sneer, drawings · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
«sneer» in the school dictionary: its 3 meanings for a pupil and its 9 examples, every sentence parsed by Mova itself — its syntax tree, a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies, and its pragmatics clause by clause. The word in the dictionary, with its sense in the lessons: [sneer in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/sneer.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To sneer is to smile or speak in an unkind way that shows you think someone or something is not good enough.

<!-- fold The tree, 22 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sneer:m1:1
# text = To sneer is to smile or speak in an unkind way that shows you think someone or something is not good enough.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	sneer	sneer	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	csubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
4	to	to	PART	TO	_	5	mark	_	_
5	smile	smile	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
6	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	7	cc	_	_
7	speak	speak	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	conj	_	_
8	in	in	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
9	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
10	unkind	unkind	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	11	amod	_	_
11	way	way	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obl	_	_
12	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	13	nsubj	_	_
13	shows	show	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	11	acl:relcl	_	_
14	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	15	nsubj	_	_
15	think	think	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=2|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	13	ccomp	_	_
16	someone	someone	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	21	nsubj	_	_
17	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	18	cc	_	_
18	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	16	conj	_	_
19	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	21	cop	_	_
20	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	21	advmod	_	_
21	good	good	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	15	ccomp	_	_
22	enough	enough	ADV	RB	_	21	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
23	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **sneer** | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn nonverbal\_expression-40.2 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **is** | present |  |  |  |  |  | smile *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **speak** *speech: other* | infinitive |  |  |  | a unkind way |  |  | vn talk-37.5 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 4 | **show** | present | a unkind way |  |  |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V how S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 5 | **think** *speech: other* | present | you |  |  |  |  |  | vn focus-87.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 6 | **not** **is** | present | someone |  |  |  |  | enough, good *property* | tree rules |

<!-- .note -->
One row per clause the reader finds. «not said here»: a role filled from the clause above. «roles by»: a VerbNet class and frame when one fits the verb, else the reader's rules on the tree.

## Meaning 2 {#m2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A sneer is that unkind, mocking smile, often with one side of the lip lifted.

<!-- fold The tree, 15 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sneer:m2:1
# text = A sneer is that unkind, mocking smile, often with one side of the lip lifted.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	sneer	sneer	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
4	that	that	SCONJ	IN	_	5	mark	_	_
5	unkind	unkind	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	7	punct	_	_
7	mocking	mock	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	5	advcl	_	_
8	smile	smile	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	13	punct	_	_
10	often	often	ADV	RB	_	13	advmod	_	_
11	with	with	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
12	one	one	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	13	nummod	_	_
13	side	side	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obl	_	_
14	of	of	SCONJ	IN	_	17	mark	_	_
15	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	16	det	_	_
16	lip	lip	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	17	nsubj	_	_
17	lifted	lift	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	13	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | a sneer |  |  |  |  | unkind *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **mock** | gerund | a sneer *not said here* | smile |  |  |  | with one side | vn judgment-33.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent smile=Theme |
| 3 | **lift** | past | the lip |  |  |  |  |  | vn put\_direction-9.4 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To sneer at something is to make fun of it as if it were worthless.

<!-- fold The tree, 15 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sneer:m3:1
# text = To sneer at something is to make fun of it as if it were worthless.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	sneer	sneer	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	7	advcl	_	_
3	at	at	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
4	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	2	obl	_	_
5	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	cop	_	_
6	to	to	PART	TO	_	7	mark	_	_
7	make	make	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
8	fun	fun	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obj	_	_
9	of	of	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
10	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	8	nmod	_	_
11	as	as	SCONJ	IN	_	15	mark	_	_
12	if	if	SCONJ	IN	_	15	mark	_	_
13	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	15	nsubj	_	_
14	were	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	15	cop	_	_
15	worthless	worthless	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **sneer** | to-infinitive |  |  |  | something |  |  | vn nonverbal\_expression-40.2 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **is** | present |  |  |  |  |  | make *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **is** *a condition, not said to happen* | past | fun |  |  |  |  | worthless *property* | tree rules |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The bully sneered at my old trainers.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sneer:x1:1
# text = The bully sneered at my old trainers.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	bully	bully	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	sneered	sneer	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	at	at	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
5	my	my	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	7	nmod:poss	_	_
6	old	old	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	trainers	trainer	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **sneer** | past | the bully |  |  | my old trainers |  |  | vn nonverbal\_expression-40.2 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
«Is that the best you can do?» he said with a sneer.

<!-- fold The tree, 12 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sneer:x2:1
# text = «Is that the best you can do?» he said with a sneer.
1	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	8	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	Is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	8	cop	_	_
3	that	that	SCONJ	IN	_	8	mark	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	best	good	ADJ	JJS	Degree=Sup	8	nsubj	_	_
6	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	8	nsubj	_	_
7	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	8	aux	_	_
8	do	do	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	12	parataxis	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	8	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	8	punct	_	_
11	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	12	nsubj	_	_
12	said	say	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
13	with	with	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
14	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	15	det	_	_
15	sneer	sneer	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	12	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** *in a quote* | can · present | the best |  |  |  |  | do *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **say** *speech: ask* | past | he |  |  |  |  | with a sneer | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The villain's face twisted into a sneer.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sneer:x3:1
# text = The villain's face twisted into a sneer.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	villain	villain	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	's	's	PART	POS	_	2	case	_	_
4	face	face	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
5	twisted	twist	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
6	into	into	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	sneer	sneer	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **twist** | past | the villain's face |  |  | a sneer |  |  | vn roll-51.3.1 «NP V PP.trajectory»: agent=Theme into sneer=Trajectory |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Don't sneer at other people's drawings.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sneer:x4:1
# text = Don't sneer at other people's drawings.
1	Do	do	AUX	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	n't	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	3	advmod	_	_
3	sneer	sneer	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	at	at	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
5	other	other	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	people	people	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	's	's	PART	POS	_	6	case	_	_
8	drawings	drawing	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **not** **sneer** | imperative · do-support | you *not said here* |  |  | other people's drawings |  |  | vn nonverbal\_expression-40.2 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **draw** |  | other people |  |  |  |  |  | nom drawing «communication intransitive»: poss=agent |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
She sneered when he dropped the ball.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sneer:x5:1
# text = She sneered when he dropped the ball.
1	She	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	sneered	sneer	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	when	when	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	5	advmod	_	_
4	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	5	nsubj	_	_
5	dropped	drop	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	2	advcl	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	ball	ball	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **sneer** | past | She |  |  |  |  |  | vn nonverbal\_expression-40.2 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **drop** | past | he | the ball |  |  |  |  | vn put\_direction-9.4 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent ball=Theme |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Some people sneered at the idea, but it worked.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sneer:x6:1
# text = Some people sneered at the idea, but it worked.
1	Some	some	DET	DT	PronType=Ind	2	det	_	_
2	people	people	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
3	sneered	sneer	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	at	at	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	idea	idea	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	10	punct	_	_
8	but	but	CCONJ	CC	_	10	cc	_	_
9	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	10	nsubj	_	_
10	worked	work	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **sneer** | past | some people |  |  | the idea |  |  | vn nonverbal\_expression-40.2 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **work** | past | idea |  |  |  |  |  | vn employment-95.3 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
His sneer made Tom feel small.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sneer:x7:1
# text = His sneer made Tom feel small.
1	His	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	2	nmod:poss	_	_
2	sneer	sneer	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	made	make	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	Tom	Tom	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
5	feel	feel	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	xcomp	_	_
6	small	small	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **make** | past | His sneer | Tom |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **feel** | infinitive | Tom *not said here* |  |  |  |  | small *property* | vn stimulus\_subject-30.4 «NP V ADJ»: agent=Stimulus |
| 3 | **sneer** |  | His *= he* |  |  |  |  |  | nom sneer «communication intransitive»: poss=agent |

## Example 8 {#x8}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The rich man sneered at the poor farmer.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sneer:x8:1
# text = The rich man sneered at the poor farmer.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	rich	rich	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	man	man	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
4	sneered	sneer	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	3	acl	_	_
5	at	at	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
7	poor	poor	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	farmer	farmer	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **sneer** | participle |  | the rich man *not said here* |  |  |  | at the poor farmer | vn nonverbal\_expression-40.2 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Example 9 {#x9}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
“Lots of little boys,” sneered Liza.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sneer:x9:1
# text = “Lots of little boys,” sneered Liza.
1	“	"	PUNCT	``	_	2	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	Lots	lot	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	nsubj	_	_
3	of	of	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
4	little	little	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	boys	boy	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	2	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	”	"	PUNCT	''	_	2	punct	_	_
8	sneered	sneer	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
9	Liza	Liza	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	8	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	8	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **sneer** | past | Lots of little boys | Liza |  |  |  |  | vn nonverbal\_expression-40.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent liza=Theme |

<!-- div src -->

**Text:** the school dictionary of Mova's schools (`world/data/dictionary-schools/`), written for Mova. **Trees:** Mova's own parse — the `en` model on the CPU, when the site is built — not checked by a teacher; they may be wrong. **Frames:** Mova's frames reader (`prag`), each meaning and example read on its own. Elamur Cosmic License.

<!-- /div -->

<!-- pn -->
- ← previous: [sneaky](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sneaky/)
- next →: [sneering](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sneering/)
- ↑ back to [S in school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/)