gnarled
Americanadjective
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having a rugged, weather-beaten appearance.
a gnarled old sea captain.
adjective
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having gnarls
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(esp of hands) rough, twisted, and weather-beaten in appearance
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perverse or ill-tempered
Other Word Forms
- ungnarled adjective
Etymology
Origin of gnarled
First recorded in 1595–1605; variant of knurled
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
A decades-old fig tree with gnarled, wandering roots, raised like the leading in a Tiffany lamp, shows how the Selby horticultural artists have interwoven Tiffany with nature.
From New York Times
A massive tree is at the intersection, its roots gnarled and twisting.
From Los Angeles Times
Retailers and consumer product companies felt justified in raising prices to offset higher costs from gnarled supply chains and Russia’s war in Ukraine last year.
From Seattle Times
A gnarled pine tree sprouts from the mask’s head in place of hair; at the roots nestle a pair of turtles.
From New York Times
They reach down like gnarled fingers in the heat of storms, ripping trees from the ground and blowing cars off the road, picking up Kansas farmhouses and transporting them to the land of Oz.
From New York Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
