gnarl

¹ American  

[nahrl] / nɑrl /

noun

1. a knotty protuberance on a tree; knot.

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verb (used with object)

1. to twist into a knotted or distorted form.

   Synonyms:

   distort, contort

gnarl ² American  

[nahrl] / nɑrl /

verb (used without object)

1. to growl; snarl.

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gnarl ¹ British  

/ nɑːl /

noun

1. any knotty protuberance or swelling on a tree

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verb

1. (tr) to knot or cause to knot

gnarl ² British  

/ nɑːl, nɑː /

verb

1. obsolete (intr) to growl or snarl

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Etymology

Origin of gnarl¹

First recorded in 1805–15; back formation from gnarled

Origin of gnarl²

First recorded in 1585–95; variant of gnar

Explanation

To gnarl is to twist something up until it's deformed. A gnarl is something twisted up like a knot. When you gnarl something, you twist and mangle it. If you have long hair that's gnarled, it's become knotted and clumped up. You could say one of those clumps of hair is a gnarl. People's bodies can gnarl too, especially as they get older. An old person with crooked, poor posture has become gnarled. A tree that is twisted is gnarled. When something's gnarled, it's hard to untwist.

Example Sentences

And every so often the gentle people of the valley are blessed with a child who just happens to be dialed straight into Gnarl Factor 11.

From Time Magazine Archive

Gnarl, n�rl, n. a twisted knot in wood.—adj.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 2 of 4: E-M) by Various

Related Words

• alter
• belie
• deceive
• disfigure
• mangle
• misconstrue
• misinterpret
• misrepresent
• pervert
• twist
• warp