gnarly

adjective

ˈnär-lē 

gnarlier; gnarliest

1

: gnarled

gnarly branches

2

slang : very bad: such as

a

: very difficult or challenging to deal with

a gnarly [=thorny, knotty] problem

gnarly conditions

Having … skidded around gnarly hairpin turns … , the two bikers pedaled furiously for the finish.

—Austin Murphy

b

: nasty, unpleasant

"This guy has some pretty gnarly karma coming …"

—Drew Barrymore

c

: arousing disgust or distaste : gross

A cute toe polish can't save gnarly, callused soles.

—Jessica R. White

" … It'll be kind of a gruesome death. You know, its fur will start falling out, it'll develop gnarly sores all over its body. … "

—David Randall

3

slang : cool, excellent

After initially wiping out on the left wave, [Filipe] Toledo responded with a gnarly air reverse on the right and was rewarded with a 9.27.

—Hanford Sentinel

especially : having a pleasingly or impressively rugged or rough quality

He played in the NFL, but then got bored with football and became a FBI agent. He was a gnarly dude.

—Reece Kelley Graham

And yet [Mark] Knopfler built a reputation as an intensely creative virtuoso (not to mention an ace songwriter), showing remarkable command over a range of tones and textures—from the gnarly distortion on hit single "Money for Nothing" to the stinging precision of "Tunnel of Love."

—Rolling Stone

Examples of gnarly in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The good news: His really gnarly injuries bring Capt. Olivia Benson running to his hospital room. —Kimberly Roots, TVLine, 17 Apr. 2025

Sure enough, Ray takes the hit like a champ when a mysterious assassin emerges from the shadows and fires a gnarly one off in his leg. —Andy Andersen, Vulture, 6 Apr. 2025

Greens are already firm and fast, and the rough is gnarly. —Tommy Tuberville, Newsweek, 7 Mar. 2025

Revisiting the Tome There was one particularly gnarly type of geodesic that kept getting in their way. —Joseph Howlett, Quanta Magazine, 3 Mar. 2025

Word History

Etymology

see gnarled

First Known Use

1760, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for gnarly

• barley
• charley
• charlie
• marly
• bizarrely