🇬🇧 Supercilious meaning: English Vocabulary Flash Card

Supercilious means acting like you’re better than everyone else, with a snobby attitude, like you’re a king or queen and everyone else is just your servant—even when there’s no reason to act that way.

During recess, Lucy gave a supercilious sniff and said, “I only play tag with athletes,” right before tripping over her own shoelace.

When Dad wore his new sunglasses, he got a supercilious look and declared, “I am now too cool to take out the trash.”

At the spelling bee, Zoe gave a supercilious smile and whispered, “I’ve been reading dictionaries for fun since I was seven.”

Emma put on a supercilious voice to tell her little brother, “Only experts may operate this TV remote.”

The word “supercilious” comes from Latin for “raised eyebrow,” so imagine a person with one snooty eyebrow climbing so high it needs its own elevator.

He sat at the small cafe table with a supercilious look, chin up and eyes cold. His supercilious smile fell when the child offered a crayon. A supercilious laugh stopped when the child drew a grateful card. Even the supercilious napkin holder tipped. The supercilious man blushed, pushed back his chair, and said, "Thank you."

This word is at the C2 level, which means it represents the highest mastery of English. It’s often used in specialized or highly formal contexts and helps you communicate with precision and subtlety, much like a native speaker.

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