gnarly

American  

[nahr-lee] / ˈnɑr li /

adjective

gnarlier, gnarliest

1. twisted with or as if with gnarls or knots; gnarled.

   long and gnarly fingers.

2. Slang. distasteful or distressing; offensive; gross.

   a comic noted for his gnarly humor.

3. Slang. excellent; wonderful.

   The live album has some gnarly guitar riffs and sweet bass lines.

4. Slang. difficult or dangerous.

   the gnarly surf.

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gnarly British  

/ ˈnɑːlɪ /

adjective

1. another word for gnarled

2. informal good; great

3. slang surfing difficult and dangerous

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Other Word Forms

• gnarliness
  noun

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Etymology

Origin of gnarly

First recorded in 1820–30; gnarl ¹ + -y ¹

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Explanation

Something gnarly is twisted, knotty, or bent, like the gnarly branches of an old apple tree or the gnarly fingers of an elderly person. "Gnarled and knotted" is the original meaning of this adjective, from the Middle English knar, "knob, knot, or mass." Confusingly, though, it's just as commonly used in two other (completely opposite) ways, to mean both "difficult" and "wonderful." In the 1970s, North American surfers adopted gnarly into their slang to describe a huge, dangerous wave. Later it came to mean "awesome," as in: "Listen to this gnarly guitar solo!"

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

gnarly gnarlier gnarliest

The remnants of tropical storm Rachel brought rain and gnarly ocean conditions to much of Southern California, damaging homes in Newport Beach and flooding the Coachella Valley.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 11, 2026

Mike Teague, part of a gnarly 1980s Cherry-and-White pack, was among the club legends they channelled to explain the hard-nosed approach they wanted.

From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2026

The landscape was rugged and swampy, filled with insects and dense vegetation that Osinski described as "deep, twisty, gnarly vegetation."

From Science Daily ● Sep. 22, 2026

Preparing for a gnarly thunderstorm that would probably wipe out our power?

From Salon ● Jun. 13, 2026

I raked a brush through my wet, gnarly hair and put the mermaid necklace over my head.

From "The Line Tender" by Kate Allen

These intimations of mortality, which I wouldn’t have minded hearing about in even gnarlier detail, suggest cracks in Barbie’s psyche, but also in Barbie Land’s very foundations.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 18, 2023

A gnarlier control issue arises if robots are rude in the service of a societal, rather than personal, goal.

From Slate ● Aug. 23, 2021

Lyonne, 38, has a weird ability to grow more appealing the gnarlier her character and surroundings get.

From The Guardian ● Apr. 6, 2017

Cider apples are different varietals from the ones people eat — gnarlier to look at and less tasty.

From Washington Post ● Dec. 11, 2016

And so Ms. Hynes is perhaps the ideal person to remind the world about Tom Murphy, the spiritual forebear of this younger, gnarlier cohort.

From New York Times ● Jun. 29, 2012

That’s when she braves the sport’s gnarliest crashes to master tricks so dangerous that her opponents won’t even dare to attempt them.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 11, 2026

Eventually, even the gnarliest tear-downs were in high demand.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 3, 2024

“In contrast, this year has so much death metal in the basement. This is the gnarliest Barboza we’ve ever had.”

From Seattle Times ● May 3, 2024

There was a full-page ad in The New York Times that took all the products in the category and listed all the gnarliest ingredients and said, “This is what’s in plant-based meat.”

From New York Times ● Aug. 27, 2021

Professional surfers live a nomadic, unusual lifestyle; the very best trot across the globe in search of the gnarliest waves.

From Washington Post

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