snide
/snaɪd/adjective, noun
snide is spelled S-N-I-D-E: 5 letters and one syllable. It appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 47,633rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, snide means “Disparaging or derisive in an insinuative way” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in snide?
| Letters | 5: S-N-I-D-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 3 million words; the 47,633rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is snide?
Snide appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 47,633rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce snide?
- /snaɪd/
- /snɛɪd/
Snide has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-snide.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of snide
- snider comparative
- snidest superlative
- snides plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does snide mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Disparaging or derisive in an insinuative way.
Don't make snide remarks to me.
- 2
Tricky; deceptive; false; spurious; contemptible.
Have nothing to do with snide goods; let it be known throughout the world that the farmers and dairymen, yea, and those engaged in other industries in the great State of Illinois, produce only the best of everything in their lines, and we w
noun
- 1
An underhanded, tricky person given to sharp practice; a sharper; a cheat.
- 2
Counterfeit money.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Snide in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | sarcastique , trompeur |
| German | abfällig, verächtlich, herabsetzend, spöttisch , betrügerisch |
| Portuguese | sarcástico |
| Spanish | socarrón |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does snide come from?
Probably from a dialectal variant of snithe (“sharp, cutting, cold”). See snithe (adjective). Alternatively, possibly a metathetic corruption of Middle English snythand (“piercing (the heart), cold, biting”, literally and figuratively). More at snithe (verb). Compare typologically cutting, Russian ко́лкий (kólkij) (akin to коло́ть (kolótʹ)).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).