To sneer at or treat with contempt, derision, or mockery; to curl one's lip in disdain.
Combines 'be-' prefix with 'sneer,' likely from Dutch 'sneren' or Scandinavian roots. The 'be-' prefix strengthens the meaning from simple mockery to sustained contempt.
Shakespeare and his contemporaries loved this word—'besneer' has a theatrical quality that perfectly captures the villainous, mocking tone actors need when playing contemptuous characters.
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