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
-
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.
This saga’s gnarled roots stretch back to 2020, the year “Promising Young Woman” was released in theaters, and a year worthy of its own case study on its impact on cinema alone.
From Salon • Feb. 23, 2026
They have no gnarled sporting director, they don't have a brains-trust that a club like Celtic should have.
From BBC • Jan. 5, 2026
Looking at a picture of young Keith, gaptoothed and geeky, beside old Keith, as gnarled as Yoda, is a lesson in the nature of time, in what the years can do.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 11, 2025
Environmentalists warn that development projects threaten the region's unique mix of dunes, pine forests, gnarled cork trees and an endless patchwork of rice fields.
From Barron's • Oct. 22, 2025
He reached now and ran one of Gretchen’s soft ears through his gnarled, bent fingers, like silk through barb-wire.
From This Side of Wild by Gary Paulsen
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.
