Snide means expressing criticism or contempt in an indirect, mocking way that's meant to sting. A snide comment sounds innocent on the surface but carries a sharp, mean edge underneath.

When someone makes a snide remark, they're not criticizing openly or honestly. Instead, they're taking a sideways jab. If your friend shows you a drawing they worked hard on and someone says, “Well, I guess some people have time to waste on hobbies,” that's snide. The words sound almost polite, but the real message is insulting.

Snide comments often involve sarcasm or fake sweetness covering up real meanness. They're designed to hurt while giving the speaker a way to deny they meant anything bad: “What? I was just saying...” A snide person might congratulate you on making the soccer team by saying, “Wow, they must have been really desperate for players this year.”

The word suggests cowardice because snide people won't say directly what they mean. Instead of honest disagreement or real criticism, they sneak in little poison darts disguised as jokes or observations. When you hear something snide, you feel the insult even if you can't quite point to which words were mean. That sneaky quality is what makes snide remarks particularly unpleasant.