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Definition of "snappish" [snap•pish]

  • Likely to snap or bite, as a dog. (adjective)
  • Irritable and curt: a snappish tone of voice; a snappish debating partner. (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "snappish" in a sentence
  • "Messrs. Davidson and Slocum were on the point of resolving their perplexity into wrath, as they went down the great stone stairway to the waiting carriage, but Mr. Crockett, the testy and snappish, muttered ecstatically: The son of a gun!"
  • "In her real world, Coraline's snappish mother cleans while her father cooks unappetizing dishes."
  • "And when I bristle, I get kind of big-brotherly, in the snappish way."