gnarl

[nahrl]

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noun

a knotty protuberance on a tree; knot.

verb (used with object)

to twist into a knotted or distorted form.

Origin of gnarl

First recorded in 1805–15; back formation from gnarled

Synonyms for gnarl

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2. contort, distort.

gnarl

[nahrl]

verb (used without object)

to growl; snarl.

Origin of gnarl

First recorded in 1585–95; variant of gnar

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for gnarl

screw, tangle, moan, grunt, howl, rumble, growl, cry, snarl, yap, bark, mutter, roar, writhe, deform, skew, cripple, impair, contort, maim

Examples from the Web for gnarl

Historical Examples of gnarl

In a little while he returned, carrying a gnarl of pine wood, which he set to blazing at the fire.
The Red Tavern
Charles Raymond Macauley
The ball is a knob or gnarl from the trunk of a tree, carefully formed into a globular shape.
The Traditional Games of England, Scotland, and Ireland (Vol I of II)
Alice Bertha Gomme

British Dictionary definitions for gnarl

gnarl

noun

any knotty protuberance or swelling on a tree

verb

(tr) to knot or cause to knot

Word Origin for gnarl

C19: back formation from gnarled, probably variant of knurled; see knurl

gnarl

gnar (nɑː)

verb

(intr) obsolete to growl or snarl

Word Origin for gnarl

C16: of imitative origin

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for gnarl

"contort, twist," 1814, a back-formation from gnarled. As a noun from 1824. Earlier the verb was used in a sense of "to snarl" (1590s).