/ˈsnɑː(ɹ)l/
OriginFrom Middle English snarlen, frequentative of snaren (“to trap, tangle”). Equivalent to snare + -le.
- transitiveTo entangle; to complicate; to involve in knots.
“to snarl a skein of thread”
“And from her backe her garments she did teare, / And from her head oft rent her snarled heare[…]”
- intransitiveTo become entangled.
- transitiveTo place in an embarrassing situation; to ensnare; to make overly complicated.
“November 9, 1550, Hugh Latimer, Sermon Preached at Stanford
[the] question that they would have snarled him with”
- intransitive, transitiveTo be congested in traffic, or to make traffic congested.
- To form raised work upon the outer surface of (thin metal ware) by the repercussion of a snarling iron upon the inner surface; to repoussé
- intransitiveTo growl angrily by gnashing or baring the teeth; to gnarl; to utter grumbling sounds.
- transitiveTo complain angrily; to utter growlingly.
- intransitiveTo speak crossly; to talk in rude, surly terms.
“It is malicious and unmanly to snarl at the little lapses of a pen, from which Virgil himself stands not exempted.”
- A knot or complication of hair, thread, or the like, difficult to disentangle.
- An intricate complication; a problematic difficulty; a knotty or tangled situation.
- A slow-moving traffic jam.
“The biggest cities feel the most acute impact of the last mile – of the squads of trucks and vans, the parcel hubs and sorting centres, the parking snarls and the discarded boxes.”
- The act of snarling; a growl; a surly or peevish expression; an angry contention.
- A growl, for example that of an angry or surly dog, or similar; grumbling sounds.
- A squabble.
Formssnarls(present, singular, third-person) · snarling(participle, present) · snarled(participle, past) · snarled(past) · snarls(plural)