# snub

/ˈsnəb/ (US) · /snˈʌb/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/snub
Updated: 2026-08-27

## Senses

### 1. to ignore someone

verb · CEFR B2

to ignore someone on purpose or treat them coldly to show you are angry or think they are not important.

For teachers: to treat with contempt or neglect by ignoring or behaving coldly toward someone. Transitive; requires a direct object.

- She felt hurt when her former friends snubbed her at the party.
- The veteran diplomat felt publicly snubbed when he was not invited to the high-level briefing despite his decades of expertise in the region.

### 2. to reject or dismiss

verb · CEFR C1 · Formal

to refuse to accept an invitation or an idea in a way that seems a bit rude.

For teachers: to reject or dismiss an offer, invitation, or suggestion in a pointed or insulting manner.

- The company snubbed the takeover offer, calling it far too low.
- The committee snubbed the proposed reforms, opting instead to maintain the status quo despite growing pressure from the public.

### 3. an insult

noun · CEFR B2

an act of ignoring someone or treating them as if they have no value.

For teachers: a deliberate affront, slight, or act of social rejection.

- It was a real snub when they didn't mention his hard work in the speech.
- The absence of the prime minister at the opening ceremony was widely interpreted by the press as a calculated diplomatic snub.

### 4. short and turned up

adjective · CEFR B2

short and flat, usually describing a person's nose that turns up at the end.

For teachers: short and broad, specifically referring to a nose that is slightly turned up at the tip.

- The child had a cute snub nose and bright blue eyes.
- The portrait captured the subject's distinctive snub nose and high cheekbones with remarkable precision.

### 5. geometry

adjective · CEFR C2 · Technical

a special shape in math made by adding extra triangles to a simpler shape.

For teachers: describing a polyhedron derived from a simpler form by the process of snubbing, which involves adding extra triangular faces.

- The snub cube is a beautiful shape with thirty-eight faces.
- In Archimedean geometry, the snub dodecahedron is a chiral solid that possesses sixty vertices and ninety-two faces.

## Examples

- She felt hurt when her old friends began to snub her.
- The director chose to snub the awards ceremony after his film was overlooked for the top prize.
- In the rigid social hierarchy of the nineteenth century, a public snub could effectively end a person's career or standing within the community.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.