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

If being alone is the eternal problem, as Sade and Mina seem to acknowledge, love, in all its gnarly reality, is the only way to be truly seen. —Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 28 Apr. 2025

The show pays particular attention to the weight of these giant heavy weapons in its action sequences — exemplified by a standout fight of the whole franchise, a gnarly slugfest against the demonic Gouf Custom in its final episodes. —Kambole Campbell, Vulture, 25 Apr. 2025

That's pretty vague, but the season 2 teaser trailer highlights several of the aforementioned foes and woes, from a host of haunted dolls and a swarm of bees to a flaming, winged creature and the gnarly sight of Tyler (Hunter Doohan) in his Hyde form. —Randall Colburn, EW.com, 23 Apr. 2025

During a recent tech rehearsal for the Broadway play, the wide-eyed cast has huddled in the mezzanine to catch a glimpse of the creature in action, unfurling its gnarly tentacles in a maelstrom of billowing smoke and flashing red lights. —Patrick Ryan, USA Today, 18 Apr. 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