tears vs snivel

tears and snivel both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
tears	Yes	No	No	No
snivel	Yes	No	Yes	No

As nouns, snivel is a hyponym of tears; that is, snivel is a word with a more specific, narrower meaning than tears:

tears: the process of shedding tears (usually accompanied by sobs or other inarticulate sounds)
snivel: whining in a tearful manner

Other hyponyms of tears include sniveling, sob, sobbing, bawling, wailing.

tears (noun)	snivel (noun)
the process of shedding tears (usually accompanied by sobs or other inarticulate sounds)	whining in a tearful manner
	the act of breathing heavily through the nose (as when the nose is congested)

tears (verb)	snivel (verb)
	snuff up mucus through the nose
	cry or whine with snuffling
	talk in a tearful manner