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 gnarling

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

Examples from the Web for gnarling

Historical Examples of gnarling

Rest assured I shall have my eye upon the gnarling scoundrels.
Rookwood
William Harrison Ainsworth
Gnarling sorrow hath less power to bite / The man that mocks at it and sets it light.
Dictionary of Quotations from Ancient and Modern, English and Foreign Sources
James Wood

British Dictionary definitions for gnarling

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 gnarling

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).