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 Privacy Will Be Affected Maybe that row of Leyland cypresses on your property is gnarly and overgrown, but the trees also provide privacy for both you and your neighbor. Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 23 Aug. 2025 Imagine straight-up gnarly adventures like this one but with a vessel built to the task. New Atlas, 21 Aug. 2025 Viewers of the new series Alien: Earth were probably expecting to see gnarly chest-bursting aliens and creepy robots. James Grebey, Time, 21 Aug. 2025 The state is home to some big, gnarly Wildlife Management Areas. M.d. Johnson, Outdoor Life, 20 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for gnarly
Recent Examples of Synonyms for gnarly
Adjective
  • The only debate is which of his five interceptions against LSU was the ugliest and/or costliest in a 20-10 loss.
    David Ubben, New York Times, 15 Sep. 2025
  • The results were ugly and caused lasting damage to our citizens' livelihoods and our city's reputation.
    Ted Wheeler, MSNBC Newsweek, 15 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Hart was short, with a hideous combover.
    Anne Thompson, IndieWire, 30 Aug. 2025
  • That hideous incentive triggered My Lai and other similarly heinous attacks.
    Matthew Carey, Deadline, 29 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • This behavior is disgusting and they should be fired.
    Zach LaChance, The Washington Examiner, 13 Sep. 2025
  • And yet … those conversations are also entertainingly provocative, and they’re accompanied by some of the scariest and most disgusting scenes the series has delivered up to now.
    Noel Murray, Vulture, 10 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • The stakes are high for exoplanets, too, where a small push in atmosphere, clouds, or volcanism could lock worlds into hellish states.
    Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 11 Sep. 2025
  • The Lost Bus takes us inside the hellish inferno of the 2018 Camp fire that decimated the town of Paradise in Northern California.
    Antonia Blyth, Deadline, 5 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Maxwell comes off as both pathetic and loathsome.
    Ruth Marcus, New Yorker, 30 Aug. 2025
  • And Trump’s targeting of college campuses for being havens of antisemitism has caused a backlash from liberals who might despise that strain of hatred, but find Trump equally as loathsome.
    Philip Elliott, Time, 23 June 2025
Adjective
  • The outing by Darvish continued a run of good starts for the Padres after a horrid stretch.
    Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 Sep. 2025
  • However, these pale in comparison to her horrid record of decisions as a Supreme Court justice.
    Chicago Tribune, Chicago Tribune, 25 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • Money savvy players might choose to horde their wealth and splurge on a powerful gun for the final boss round, in which the team must work together to bring down the likes of beastly chimeras that dig underground and towering mutants who perform whirlwind moves.
    Griff Griffin, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 July 2025
  • The gas version can be outfitted with either a 4.6-liter 600 hp mill or a beastly 5.0-liter engine good for 1,200 hp and a gut-punching 12,000 RPM.
    New Atlas, New Atlas, 4 July 2025
Adjective
  • Political analyst Matthew Dowd took to MSNBC to say that Kirk’s hateful words had led to hateful actions.
    Editorial, Boston Herald, 12 Sep. 2025
  • In other words, Cartman is irate that Trump has stolen his hateful, vindictive shtick.
    Nick Marx, The Conversation, 11 Sep. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Gnarly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gnarly. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.

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