ridicule vs sneer

ridicule

noun
  • derision; mocking or humiliating words or behaviour 

  • An object of sport or laughter; a laughing stock. 

  • The quality of being ridiculous; ridiculousness. 

  • A small woman's handbag; a reticule. 

verb
  • to criticize or disapprove of someone or something through scornful jocularity; to make fun of 

sneer

noun
  • A display of contempt; scorn. 

  • A facial expression where one slightly raises one corner of the upper lip, generally indicating scorn. 

verb
  • To utter with a grimace or contemptuous expression; to say sneeringly. 

  • To raise a corner of the upper lip slightly, especially in scorn 

How often have the words ridicule and sneer occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )