snooty

The adjective is derived from snoot (“(UK, dialectal, and slang) snout; nose”) +‎ -y (suffix forming adjectives meaning ‘having the quality of’),^[1][2] probably referring to a snobbish person often having their nose in the air (that is, acting disdainfully towards others). Snoot is a dialectal variant of snout.

The noun is derived from the adjective.

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈsnuːti/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈsnuti/, [-ɾi]

• Audio (General American); [ˈsnuɾi]:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -uːti

snooty (comparative snootier, superlative snootiest) (informal)

1. Haughty, pompous, snobbish; inclined to turn up one's nose.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:arrogant

   Antonyms: see Thesaurus:humble

   Sir Sydney was an arrogant, snooty, bigoted prig, so it was with some satisfaction that I wrote out his parking ticket.

   • 1922, Sinclair Lewis, chapter XX, in Babbitt, New York, N.Y.: Harcourt, Brace and Company, →OCLC, section I, page 252:

     I didn't like the way you looked at May Arnold, or the snooty way you talked.

   • 2019, Bernardine Evaristo, “Chapter 1 [Yazz]”, in Girl, Woman, Other, London: Penguin Books, →ISBN, page 43:

     ever since she landed the National gig she's got very snooty about struggling theatre mates, as if she alone has discovered the secret to being successful

     The text does not begin with a capital letter, nor end with a full stop.

2. (by extension)
   1. Of an event, a thing, etc.: elite, exclusive.

      Her parties were snooty affairs; custom-designed cocktail dresses that cost more than a decent luxury car were de rigueur.

      • 1958 December, Devon Francis, “What’s New with Edsel, Mercury, Lincoln”, in Howard Allaway, editor, The Popular Science Monthly, volume 173, number 6, New York, N.Y.: Popular Science Publishing Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 78, column 1:

        The Mercury for 1959 firmly establishes itself as Ford Motor's flashy centerpiece in the middle-price field. […] It's snootier than the Edsel—and snootier than it was, itself, in 1958.

      • 2017, Janice Sims, One Fine Day (An Arabesque Novel), New York, N.Y.: Kimani Press, page 128:

        I grew up a privileged princess in Nob Hill, the snootiest neighborhood in San Francisco. My father's family had so much money they didn't know what to do with it.

   2. (uncommon) Easily angered or irritated; irritable, short-tempered.

• snoot (probably)
• snootily
• snootiness

snooty (plural snooties)

1. (informal, uncommon) Synonym of snoot (“an elitist or snobbish person”).
   • 1993, Elizabeth Lapovsky Kennedy, Madeline D. Davis, quoting D. J., “‘Maybe ’cause Things Were Harder … You Had to Be More Friendly’: Race and Class in the Lesbian Community of the 1950s”, in Boots of Leather, Slippers of Gold: The History of a Lesbian Community, New York, N.Y.; London: Routledge, →ISBN, page 113:

     Well there was always cliques as far as that goes. You had your snooties and dooties, and people that were down to earth, and it's mixed.

   • 2005 February, Tara K. Harper, chapter XVIII, in Wolf in Night (Tales of the Wolves; 7), New York, N.Y.: Ballantine Books, →ISBN, page 193:

     Because you never hung around with the city snooties like I did, scooping up the council gossip.

   • 2013, Stan Poel, chapter 3, in Of Souls and Patriots, Bloomington, Ind.: WestBow Press, Thomas Nelson, →ISBN, page 34:

     I don't care a whole lot for the snooty people. […] Yup, the snooties are a pain in the—uh—rear end—but at least you know where they're coming from. The phonies are the actors. They play whatever role meets their own selfish needs.

• snob on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Snooty (disambiguation) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

• toyons