Wait a Minute—What Does 'Snaky' Mean, Exactly?

Snakes get a bad rap. From being the face of humans’ Original Sin in Christianity to being Indiana Jones’ biggest fear—“Snakes. Why did it have to be snakes?”—people aren’t big fans of these scaly creatures. But their imagery isn’t always bad; think Taylor Swift’s empowering and rebellious reputation album. Regardless, their likeness has influenced words in the English language, including “snaky.”

While “snaky” might bring up negative connotations like being shady or disingenuous (partly why Swift flipped it and used snakes as her mascot for rep), the word actually has more to do with snakes than you think. Here’s what snaky means and how to use it.

Related: How to Tell if a Snake Is Venomous

Does 'snaky' have to do with snakes?

According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, “snaky” first and foremost means, “of, formed of, or entwined with snakes.” Its second definition also means “serpentine” or “snakelike,” and its third meaning is “suggestive of a snake.” Lastly, it can mean “abounding in snakes.”

With all of these snake-like meanings, you can still use snaky to describe things that are like a snake, like hair or movement. “Medusa had snaky hair,” means that Medusa from Greek mythology had snakes for her. But if something coils, it can also be snaky. The first known use of “snaky” was in 1567 to describe Medusa’s hair.

Related: 55+ Popular Emojis and Their Meaning

What does snaky mean?

However, snaky is usually known to mean “shady” or “deceitful,” and that meaning is correct too. According to Dictionary.com, the word can mean all of the above, along with “venomous; treacherous or insidious,” which is closer to the descriptor we use nowadays.

Collins Dictionary also writes that snaky means “cunningly treacherous or evil,” which surely comes from the Biblical story of the serpent in the Garden of Eden. Again, a lot of the imagery we have about snakes is very negative; cunning, disingenuous or insincere, which can all come back to the “treacherous” definition.

Related: Dragonfly's Spiritual Meaning: What They Symbolize

What are popular uses of the slang term ‘snaky’?

So, while snaky can mean “like a snake” or something that has to do with snakes, it also is an adjective to describe someone who isn’t very truthful (which is why Kim Kardashian used the snake emoji when she tried to expose Swift as a liar, but it ended up coming back to bite Kardashian in the butt).

If someone says they can’t come to your wedding because they’re sick or aren’t traveling right now, but then you see they’re at someone else’s wedding the day before, you can call that snaky.

Or if someone says they can’t stand a mutual frenemy, but then all of sudden they’re hanging out with that person all of the time, they’re kind of snaky for that.

So, while we mostly know “snaky” for its more slang meaning that's used on social media, it has a lot more to do with snakes (and the negative ideas we carry about them).

Next up, find out what finding your "color person" means on TikTok.