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sniveling

/ˈsnɪvəlɪŋ/
/ˈsnɪvəlɪŋ/
IPA guide

Someone who's sniveling is a whiner or a crybaby. While some people are nervous fliers, others don't mind airplanes at all — as long as there aren't any sniveling kids on board.

If you've ever watched a young child have a tantrum in a store because their parents won't buy them something they want, you know exactly what sniveling means. To call someone sniveling is a real insult — you're implying that they're worse than childish. The adjective comes from snivel, "cry and sniffle" or "whine," from the Old English snyflan, "to run at the nose," from the root snofl, "nasal mucus."

Definitions of sniveling
  1. noun
    whining in a tearful manner
    synonyms: snivel
    see moresee less
    type of:
    crying, tears, weeping
    the process of shedding tears (usually accompanied by sobs or other inarticulate sounds)
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