What does sniggered mean?
Sniggered is the past tense of snigger, meaning to laugh quietly in a way that suggests amusement mixed with embarrassment, mockery, or contempt. It is often used when someone laughs at another person's mistake, awkwardness, or misfortune, giving the word a distinctly unkind edge in some contexts. The action is generally quieter and more controlled than open laughter: the person may suppress the sound, cover their mouth, or laugh through their nose. Sniggered can be used neutrally when describing a conventional, intimate reaction, such as a group of friends quietly laughing together, but the verb frequently carries the implication of derision. It is established in both British and American English and is especially common in narrative and descriptive writing.
verbTo laugh quietly in a way that suggests suppressed amusement, often mockery or embarrassment.
- To laugh quietly or suppressively, especially with mockery, embarrassment, or derision.
"Several students sniggered when the speaker misspelled the author's name."
"He sniggered behind his hand as the guest stumbled through the introduction."
"The witness sniggered at the suggestion that the plan could not work."
A snigger is often less about joy than about enjoying someone else's discomfort.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does sniggered come from?
The verb snigger is an imitative formation associated with a suppressed laugh, and its earliest uses date to the early 19th century. Its precise sound development is not certain, but the word was evidently shaped by the idea of a small, suppressed snorting or chuckling noise. The form is related in meaning to several older expressions for quiet or concealed laughter, though it has no clearly established direct cognate outside English.
Related word forms
How sniggered is actually used
Common in British and American English, it can sound derisive or unkind when it describes laughter prompted by another person's mistake or appearance. The verb is often transitive with a preposition such as "at".
Easily confused with sniggered
Snickered describes a short, often nervous or contemptuous laugh, while sniggered more often implies a quiet laugh motivated by mockery or embarrassment.
Snorted refers to a forceful expulsion of breath through the nose, sometimes as a laugh, whereas sniggered refers specifically to quiet, suppressed amusement.