snarl
English
Pronunciation
- Rhymes: -ɑː(r)l
Etymology 1
Late 14thc. From Middle English snarlen, frequentative of snaren (“to trap, tangle”). Equivalent to snare + -le.
Verb
snarl (third-person singular simple present snarls, present participle snarling, simple past and past participle snarled)
- (transitive) To entangle; to complicate; to involve in knots.
- to snarl a skein of thread
- Edmund Spenser
- And from her back her garments she did tear, / And from her head oft rent her snarled hair […]
- (intransitive) To become entangled.
- (transitive) To place in an embarrassing situation; to ensnare; to make overly complicated.
- Latimer
- [the] question that they would have snarled him with
- Latimer
- (transitive, intransitive) To 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.
Translations
To entangle
To embarrass
|
To form raised work upon the outer surface of
Noun
snarl (plural snarls)
- A knot or complication of hair, thread, or the like, difficult to disentangle.
- Synonym: entanglement
- An intricate complication; a problematic difficulty; a knotty or tangled situation.
- A slow-moving traffic jam.
Synonyms
- (entangled situation): imbroglio
Translations
knot or complication of hair, thread, or the like, difficult to disentangle
Etymology 2
Late 16thc. Frequentative of earlier snar (“to growl”), perhaps from Middle Low German snorren (“to drone”), of probably imitative origin. Related to German schnarren (“to rattle”) and schnurren (“to hum, buzz”).
Verb
snarl (third-person singular simple present snarls, present participle snarling, simple past and past participle snarled)
- (intransitive) To growl angrily by gnashing or baring the teeth; to gnarl; to utter grumbling sounds.
- (transitive) To complain angrily; to utter growlingly.
- (intransitive) To speak crossly; to talk in rude, surly terms.
- Dryden
- It is malicious and unmanly to snarl at the little lapses of a pen, from which Virgil himself stands not exempted.
- Dryden
Derived terms
Translations
To growl
Derived terms
Translations
Further reading
Icelandic
Etymology
Back-formation from snarla.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /s(t)nartl/
- Rhymes: -artl
Declension
See also
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