snub

/snəb/

/snəb/

Other forms: snubbed; snubbing; snubs

To snub is to ignore or refuse to acknowledge someone. If you want to snub your former best friend, you can refuse to even look at her when you pass in the hallway.

When you snub someone, you deliver an insult by pretending to not even notice someone that you know. There’s an element of disdain and rejection to a snub, as if you’re too good to even acknowledge the person. As a noun, a snub is that act of cold rejection. Your former friend probably noticed the snub, and she’ll probably snub you from now on. Snub also means "very short," like the nose on a bulldog.

Definitions of snub

1. verb

   refuse to acknowledge
   synonyms: cut, disregard, ignore

   type of:

   do by, handle, treat

   interact in a certain way
2. verb

   reject outright and bluntly
   “She snubbed his proposal”

   synonyms: rebuff, repel

   type of:

   disdain, freeze off, pooh-pooh, reject, scorn, spurn, turn down

   reject with contempt
3. noun

   a refusal to recognize someone you know
   “the snub was clearly intentional”

   synonyms: cold shoulder, cut

   type of:

   rebuff, slight

   a deliberate discourteous act (usually as an expression of anger or disapproval)
4. noun

   an instance of driving away or warding off
   synonyms: rebuff, repulse

   type of:

   rejection

   the speech act of rejecting
5. adjective

   unusually short
   “a snub nose”

   synonyms:

   short

   (primarily spatial sense) having little length or lacking in length