snub

to insult someone by ignoring him/her

TRANSLATION

snub = jmd. brüskieren, abweisen, vor den Kopf stoßen, rüffeln, anschnauzen

STATISTICS

IN THE PRESS

When Mr Putin cancelled his visit to the US in May 2012, the White House downplayed the importance of his absence, insisting it was not a SNUB.

(BBC News)

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Kate Middleton and Prince William SNUBBED a number of royal family members by not inviting them to the christening of Prince George.

(International Business Times)

Did you
know?

snub
verb

- to insult someone by not giving them any attention or treating them as if they are not important

(Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary)

noun

- the act of rebuffing or ignoring someone or something

(Oxford English Dictionary)

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Snub is from the mid 14th century and likely stems from the Old Norse "snubba," meaning to curse, chide or scold. The basic sense is perhaps "to cut off," and is probably related to snip. Snub is also related to the Swedish snobba, "to cut off, snuff (extinguish like a candle)" and the Old Norse snubbotr, meaning snubbed, nipped, with the tip cut off. The sense of ignoring or treating someone coldly appeared in the early 18th century.

Snub has several other meanings including:

- to cut off short, nip, stunt, stop something from growing

- to check or stop suddenly; check the headway of, such as using a rope in order to turn a vessel into a narrow berth or to tame a wild horse to its halter. Commonly used with the preposition "up"

- to fasten, or tie up, as to a snub or snubbing-post

- (noun) a protuberance or knot in wood.

- (noun) a nose turned up at the tip and somewhat flat, broad and short. Often used in the expression snub-nose, such as "snub-nosed gun," which is a revolver with a very short barrel.

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SYNONYMS

disregard, ignore, neglect, rebuff, shun, brush off, offend, reject

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Practice OWAD in a conversation today, say something like:

"Jim might feel SNUBBED if he is not invited to the meeting."

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