snarl

1 of 4

verb (1)

snarled; snarling; snarls

transitive verb

1
: to cause to become knotted and intertwined : tangle
2
: to make excessively complicated

snarl

2 of 4

noun (1)

1
: a tangle especially of hairs or thread : knot
2
: a tangled situation
traffic snarls

snarl

3 of 4

verb (2)

snarled; snarling; snarls

intransitive verb

1
: to growl with a snapping, gnashing, or display of teeth
2
: to give vent to anger in surly language

transitive verb

: to utter or express with a snarl or by snarling

snarl

4 of 4

noun (2)

: a surly angry growl
snarly adjective

Examples of snarl in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
Increasingly embittered as one by one, his supporters fall by the wayside, Dr. Stockmann snarls back at his opposition with anti-democratic rhetoric. Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 12 Mar. 2024 For most, a snarling, growling 911 is the only 911 for them. Basem Wasef, Robb Report, 6 Mar. 2024 As transit walkouts snarled traffic and sanitation strikes caused trash to pile up in the streets, the protests were ridiculed abroad. Elisabeth Zerofsky, New York Times, 6 Mar. 2024 Earlier, snow and ice coincided with the morning commute hours, snarling traffic, including in major cities such as Philadelphia, New York City, Washington. Christopher Cann, USA TODAY, 23 Feb. 2024 The outage snarled 911 centers, with some law enforcement officials noting that some people were calling the emergency number to test whether their phones worked. Aimee Picchi, CBS News, 22 Feb. 2024 Viciousness is the attack dog that hasn’t eaten in a week, and is drooling and barking and snarling. Merve Emre, The New York Review of Books, 30 Jan. 2024 Veteran detective Sarah Lund (Sofie Gråbøl) is getting ready to retire and relocate to a quieter life in Sweden when she’s snarled into a case involving a missing teenager, later found murdered. Andrea Duncan-Mao, Vulture, 28 Jan. 2024 The streets of Port-au-Prince normally bustle in the mornings with markets, students, street vendors, snarled traffic, and people on their way to work or out looking for day jobs. Amy Wilentz, The Atlantic, 7 Mar. 2024
Noun
En route to the Algarve, the Sport SV’s downsized V-8 still snarls when prodded, packs decisively more punch, yet never draws undue attention to itself. Lawrence Ulrich, Robb Report, 20 Feb. 2024 On this new collaboration with Cincinnati rapper Skylar Blatt, Lola doubles down on the menacing snarl that garnered her name recognition. Kyle Denis, Billboard, 30 Oct. 2023 Supply chain snarls have also eased significantly since they were caused by disruptions like the COVID-19 pandemic and the Ukraine war. Byprarthana Prakash, Fortune Europe, 10 Feb. 2024 At the same time, a mob of angry white people snarls, yells obscenities, and hurls glass bottles at them. Ira Porter, The Christian Science Monitor, 1 Feb. 2024 Sheep snarl traffic in France, a serviceman makes a snow angel in Ukraine and more images from around the world, selected by WSJ photo editors. WSJ, 27 Jan. 2024 Aerospace still struggles to produce at full capacity, the result of supply-chain snarls that started during the COVID crisis. Shawn Tully, Fortune, 26 Jan. 2024 In turn, the theater cranked their set up to 11, Spinal Tap–style, with crystal-clear audio quality that allowed viewers to take in all of Hetfield's signature snarls, Trujillo's punishing basslines, Ulrich's furious pounding, and Hammett's wailing guitar solos just as the metal gods intended. Emlyn Travis, EW.com, 24 Aug. 2023 His eyes are fixed in an icy stare, his lips curl toward a snarl. Emily Birnbaum, Fortune, 25 Jan. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'snarl.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Verb (1)

Middle English, to trap, entangle, probably frequentative of snaren to snare

Noun (1)

Middle English snarle snare, noose, probably from snarlen, verb

Verb (2)

frequentative of obsolete English snar to growl; akin to Middle Low German snorren to drone, rattle

First Known Use

Verb (1)

14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Noun (1)

1609, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb (2)

1589, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Noun (2)

1613, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of snarl was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near snarl

Cite this Entry

“Snarl.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/snarl. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

snarl

1 of 4 noun
1
: a tangle especially of hairs or thread : knot
2
: a tangled situation
a traffic snarl

snarl

2 of 4 verb
: to get into a tangle

snarl

3 of 4 verb
1
: to growl with a snapping or showing of teeth
2
: to speak in an angry way
3
: to utter with a snarl
snarler noun

snarl

4 of 4 noun
: an angry growl
Etymology

Noun

Middle English snarle "snare, noose," probably from snarlen "to trap, entangle"

Verb

from obsolete snar "to growl"

More from Merriam-Webster on snarl

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!