--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A sneer is the weapon of the weak." description: "\"A sneer is the weapon of the weak.\" — James Russell Lowell" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/960/james-russell-lowell-561_criticism_a-sneer-is-the-weapon-of-the-weak-264549_2645499.png" --- # A sneer is the weapon of the weak. ![“A sneer is the weapon of the weak.” quote by James Russell Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/960/james-russell-lowell-561_criticism_a-sneer-is-the-weapon-of-the-weak-264549_2645499.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/960/james-russell-lowell-561_criticism_a-sneer-is-the-weapon-of-the-weak-264549_2645499.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/960/james-russell-lowell-561_criticism_a-sneer-is-the-weapon-of-the-weak-264549_2645499.png) > “A sneer is the weapon of the weak.” [James Russell Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-russell-lowell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Mockery is a defensive tool used by those lacking strength, allowing them to belittle others instead of confronting challenges. **In simple terms:** Sneering shows weakness and a need to dominate. Key Takeaway Avoid using sarcasm as a shield. Themes weakness defensiveness power dynamics communication Mood defensive critical reflective Type philosophical observational When to use this quote - online debates - workplace disagreements - family arguments - political discourse Key Concepts psychological defense social hierarchy insecurity Questions to Reflect On - Why do you feel the need to sneer? - What stronger response could replace mockery? A Different Perspective Sneering can sometimes expose genuine concerns if examined. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Criticism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/criticism/) [Sneer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sneer/) [Sneer Weapon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sneer-weapon-2304492/) [Weak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weak/) [Weapon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weapon/) [Weapon Weak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weapon-weak-506420/) [Weapons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weapons/) ## Related quotes > [A sneer is the weapon of the weak. Like other devil's weapons, it is always cunningly ready to our hand, and there is more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-russell-lowell/a-sneer-is-the-weapon-of-the-weak-like-other-devil-s-weapons-it-is/) [James Russell Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-russell-lowell/) > [Disrespect is the weapon of the weak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-miller/disrespect-is-the-weapon-of-the-weak/) [Alice Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-miller/) > [Force is the weapon of the weak.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ammon-hennacy/force-is-the-weapon-of-the-weak/) [Ammon Hennacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ammon-hennacy/) > [Terrorism is simply the weapon by which the weak engage the strong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-koppel/terrorism-is-simply-the-weapon-by-which-the-weak-engage-the-strong/) [Ted Koppel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-koppel/) > [Violence is the weapon of the weak.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-abernathy/violence-is-the-weapon-of-the-weak/) [Ralph Abernathy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-abernathy/) > [Criticising is a weapon of the weak.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dani-alves/criticising-is-a-weapon-of-the-weak/) [Dani Alves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dani-alves/) > [Violence is the weapon of weak, non-violence that of the strong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/violence-is-the-weapon-of-weak-non-violence-that-of-the-strong/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Terrorism is the preferred weapon of weak and evil men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/terrorism-is-the-preferred-weapon-of-weak-and-evil-men/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [Nonviolence is not a weapon of the weak. It is a weapon of the strongest and bravest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/nonviolence-is-not-a-weapon-of-the-weak-it-is-a-weapon-of-the/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [I, with other Americans, have perhaps unduly resented the stream of criticism of American life... more particularly have I resented the sneers at Main…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-hoover/i-with-other-americans-have-perhaps-unduly-resented-the-stream-of/) [Herbert Hoover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-hoover/) > [Rifles, muskets, long-bows and hand-grenades are inherently democratic weapons. A complex weapon makes the strong stronger, while a simple weapon - so long as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/rifles-muskets-long-bows-and-hand-grenades-are-inherently-democratic/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [My sister stood up, trembling, and I must admit that I expected her familiar sneer to have taken its usual place on her face.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-robert-lennon/my-sister-stood-up-trembling-and-i-must-admit-that-i-expected-her/) [J. Robert Lennon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-robert-lennon/) > [To be original is to discover the commonplace of a thousand years--to face at first the sneer that no one would have thought of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-stanley-lee/to-be-original-is-to-discover-the-commonplace-of-a-thousand-years-to/) [Gerald Stanley Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-stanley-lee/) > [The trouble is. . .that everybody sneers at restrictions and demands freedom, till something annoying happens; then they demand angrily what has become of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/the-trouble-is-that-everybody-sneers-at-restrictions-and-demands/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [So often do you see collegians enter life with high resolve and lofty purpose and then watch them shrink and shrink to sordid, selfish,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois/so-often-do-you-see-collegians-enter-life-with-high-resolve-and-lofty/) [W. E. B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois/) ## More by James Russell Lowell > [We kind o' thought Christ went agin war an' pillage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-russell-lowell/we-kind-o-thought-christ-went-agin-war-an-pillage/) [James Russell Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-russell-lowell/) > [He gives only the worthless gold who gives from a sense of duty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-russell-lowell/he-gives-only-the-worthless-gold-who-gives-from-a-sense-of-duty/) [James Russell Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-russell-lowell/) > [As life runs on, the road grows strange with faces new - and near the end. The milestones into headstones change, Neath every one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-russell-lowell/as-life-runs-on-the-road-grows-strange-with-faces-new-and-near-the/) [James Russell Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-russell-lowell/) > [Where one person shapes their life by precept and example, there are a thousand who have shaped it by impulse and circumstances.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-russell-lowell/where-one-person-shapes-their-life-by-precept-and-example-there-are-a/) [James Russell Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-russell-lowell/) > [Granting our wish is one of Fate's saddest jokes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-russell-lowell/granting-our-wish-is-one-of-fate-s-saddest-jokes/) [James Russell Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-russell-lowell/) > [Most religion-mongers have bated their paradises with a bit of toasted cheese. They have tempted the body with large promises of possessions in their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-russell-lowell/most-religion-mongers-have-bated-their-paradises-with-a-bit-of/) [James Russell Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-russell-lowell/) > [The thing we long for, that we are For one transcendent moment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-russell-lowell/the-thing-we-long-for-that-we-are-for-one-transcendent-moment/) [James Russell Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-russell-lowell/) > [O reputation! dearer far than life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-russell-lowell/o-reputation-dearer-far-than-life/) [James Russell Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-russell-lowell/) > [Keats longed for fame, but longed above all to deserve it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-russell-lowell/keats-longed-for-fame-but-longed-above-all-to-deserve-it/) [James Russell Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-russell-lowell/) > [It is beginning to be doubtful whether Parliament and Congress sit in Westminster and Washington, or in the editorial rooms of the leading journals,--so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-russell-lowell/it-is-beginning-to-be-doubtful-whether-parliament-and-congress-sit-in/) [James Russell Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-russell-lowell/) > [ \[B\]ut in literature, it should be remembered, a thing always becomes his at last who says it best, and thus makes it his own. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-russell-lowell/b-ut-in-literature-it-should-be-remembered-a-thing-always-becomes-his/) [James Russell Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-russell-lowell/) > [It may be glorious to write Thoughts that shall glad the two or three High souls, like those far stars that come in sight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-russell-lowell/it-may-be-glorious-to-write-thoughts-that-shall-glad-the-two-or-three/) [James Russell Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-russell-lowell/) > [It is the vain endeavor to make ourselves what we are not that has strewn history with so many broken purposes and lives left…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-russell-lowell/it-is-the-vain-endeavor-to-make-ourselves-what-we-are-not-that-has/) [James Russell Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-russell-lowell/) > [Take winter as you find him, and he turns out to be a thoroughly honest fellow; with no nonsense in him, which is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-russell-lowell/take-winter-as-you-find-him-and-he-turns-out-to-be-a-thoroughly/) [James Russell Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-russell-lowell/) > [The intellect has only one failing, which, to be sure, is a very considerable one. It has no conscience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-russell-lowell/the-intellect-has-only-one-failing-which-to-be-sure-is-a-very/) [James Russell Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-russell-lowell/) [Explore all 471 James Russell Lowell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-russell-lowell/) ## More Criticism quotes > [Regardless of the criticisms I receive from the left, the right and the middle, I think it's important to maintain a prolific writing jab,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ishmael-reed/regardless-of-the-criticisms-i-receive-from-the-left-the-right-and/) [Ishmael Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishmael-reed/) > [I receive something we might euphemistically call an 'inappropriately hostile' response - that is to say, more than fair criticism or even fair anger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beard/i-receive-something-we-might-euphemistically-call-an-inappropriately/) [Mary Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beard/) > [A common fallacy in much of the adverse criticism to which science is subjected today is that it claims certainty, infallibility and complete emotional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-norman-hinshelwood/a-common-fallacy-in-much-of-the-adverse-criticism-to-which-science-is/) [Cyril Norman Hinshelwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyril-norman-hinshelwood/) > [For some reason, we are truly convinced that if we criticize ourselves, the criticism will lead to change. If we are harsh, we believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geneen-roth/for-some-reason-we-are-truly-convinced-that-if-we-criticize-ourselves/) [Geneen Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geneen-roth/) > [I reject criticism because the last thing I wanted was to sit there and look at people talking. I think people are conditioned to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-tyrnauer/i-reject-criticism-because-the-last-thing-i-wanted-was-to-sit-there/) [Matt Tyrnauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-tyrnauer/) > [I'm more comfortable modelling as a man because I don't get any criticism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rain-dove/i-m-more-comfortable-modelling-as-a-man-because-i-don-t-get-any/) [Rain Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rain-dove/) > [I don't mind positive criticism, but when it is negative and personal, it is quite hard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/inzamam-ul-haq/i-don-t-mind-positive-criticism-but-when-it-is-negative-and-personal/) [Inzamam-ul-Haq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/inzamam-ul-haq/) > [Judge a person not by his ability to make money but by his ability to retain it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/judge-a-person-not-by-his-ability-to-make-money-but-by-his-ability-to/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [Everything is allowable in literature, but what is not allowable in criticism is objection on the grounds of probability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-jacobson/everything-is-allowable-in-literature-but-what-is-not-allowable-in/) [Howard Jacobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-jacobson/) > [Lots of relationships fail because we spend more time pointing out each other's mistakes and not enough time enjoying each other's company.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/lots-of-relationships-fail-because-we-spend-more-time-pointing-out/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If our aim is to praise, we should forget to criticize; if our aim is to criticize, we should remember to praise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/if-our-aim-is-to-praise-we-should-forget-to-criticize-if-our-aim-is/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [No man can be criticised but by a greater than he. Do not, then, read the reviews.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/no-man-can-be-criticised-but-by-a-greater-than-he-do-not-then-read/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [People believe that criticism should be objective, whatever that means, but I really don't understand what people mean by that. I guess if you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-christgau/people-believe-that-criticism-should-be-objective-whatever-that-means/) [Robert Christgau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-christgau/) > [I welcome criticism. 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