different between snobbish vs imperious

English

Etymology

snob +? -ish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?sn?b??/

Adjective

snobbish (comparative more snobbish, superlative most snobbish)

1. Having the property of being a snob; arrogant and pretentious; smugly superior or dismissive of perceived inferiors.
   • c.1948, George Orwell, Such, Such Were the Joys

     St Cyprian's was an expensive and snobbish school which was in process of becoming more snobbish, and, I imagine, more expensive.

Synonyms

• cliquish

Translations

English

Etymology

From Latin imperi?sus (“mighty, powerful”), from imperium (“command, authority, power”)

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?m?p???i.?s/
• (US) IPA^(key): /?m?p??i.?s/
• Rhymes: -??ri?s

Adjective

imperious (not comparable)

1. Domineering, arrogant, or overbearing.
   • 1866 – Fyodor Dostoyevsky, The Gambler, translated by C. J. Hogarth

     ...she glanced about her in an imperious, challenging sort of way, with looks and gestures that clearly were unstudied.

2. Urgent.
   • 1891 – Ambrose Bierce, An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge

     Circumstances of an imperious nature, which it is unnecessary to relate here, had prevented him from taking service with that gallant army which had fought the disastrous campaigns ending with the fall of Corinth.

3. (obsolete) Imperial or regal.
   • 1899 – Stephen Crane, The Angel Child, Whilomville Stories

     She was quick, beautiful, imperious, while he was quiet, slow, and misty.

Synonyms

• (domineering): authoritarian, bossy, dictatorial, domineering, overbearing

Related terms

Translations