gnarly

slang

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of gnarly These gnarly operating environments are challenging for regular trucks and more so for autonomous trucks. Richard Bishop, Forbes.com, 16 Apr. 2025 Her character Lyla began as the head cheerleader and girlfriend to star football player Jason Street (Scott Porter), until Jason was paralyzed in the series premiere from a gnarly block during a game. Dessi Gomez, Deadline, 14 Apr. 2025 She's confronted with all sorts of horrors, including terrifying mannequin-like creatures, a flowery monster, and some pretty gnarly effects. Raja Krishnamoorthi, Newsweek, 13 Mar. 2025 Theo James stars as twin brothers Hal and Bill, who reconnect to destroy the toy — though, of course, this is an Oz Perkins film, so expect some gnarly, unsettling kills along the way. Savannah Salazar, Vulture, 22 Feb. 2025 See All Example Sentences for gnarly
Recent Examples of Synonyms for gnarly
Adjective
  • The Heat finished with an ugly 12-34 record against opponents that finished this regular season with a .500 record or better.
    Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 29 Apr. 2025
  • The biggest storyline in the series, however, has been all of the ugly hits and bad blood between the two state rivals.
    James Mirtle, New York Times, 29 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • PreSonus has also added something called a soft start circuit that stops the speakers from making the hideous thumping sound that some speakers can produce when they are turned on or off.
    Mark Sparrow, Forbes.com, 20 Apr. 2025
  • It must be emphasized that these companies are not just enabling hideous criminal activity, but directly profiting from it.
    Aaron Ping, Denver Post, 15 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • The fridge was smelly and disgusting before it was replaced about a week later.
    Chris Higgins, Kansas City Star, 21 Apr. 2025
  • Few things in this war have been more morally disgusting than the present hunt after traitors and Quislings.
    Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 18 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • Creating hip-hop is one among the many ways Black people have persevered in the U.S. Universities and other exclusionary institutions helped sustain – and, in certain ways, continue to benefit from – hellish conditions like those created by slavery.
    A.D. Carson, The Conversation, 7 Apr. 2025
  • All ends peacefully with a romantic closing image, before things get too hellish.
    Chris Willman, Variety, 3 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • If going through boxes is a particularly loathsome task, set a timer once a week for 30 minutes to start hacking away one cardboard box at a time.
    Patricia Shannon, Southern Living, 26 Jan. 2025
  • Thune also often praises wind energy—a booming industry in his home state—even though Trump considers turbines loathsome eyesores.
    David D. Kirkpatrick, New Yorker, 31 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • The Raiders endured a horrid 2024 season running the football.
    Shaun Goodwin, Idaho Statesman, 9 Apr. 2025
  • Beyond the chaotic rise of every brood lies one of nature’s most grotesque manipulations — a horrid affair that keeps this species alive against the odds.
    Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 6 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • This would be a more monumental climb given the beastly nature of the Western Conference.
    Mirjam Swanson, Orange County Register, 30 Jan. 2025
  • Talbot’s reluctant transformation into the title monster and Jack Pierce’s special-effects makeup remain iconic, responsible for the dominant cultural perception of how a werewolf looks and feels — even as cinematic werewolves have become beastlier in the decades since.
    Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 17 Jan. 2025
Adjective
  • The antisemitic charge is a slur in its own right, tainting a broad range of institutions with a single hateful brush.
    Jonathan Zimmerman, New York Daily News, 14 Apr. 2025
  • Prater, a graduate student in her first season with the Bulldogs, appeared to disable her comment section on some of her Instagram posts after facing an influx of hateful messages following the devastating injury Watkins suffered in the first half of their second round game.
    Paulina Dedaj, FOXNews.com, 26 Mar. 2025

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Gnarly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gnarly. Accessed 2 May. 2025.

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!