as in ornery
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Recent Examples of snarly
The Harsh Glare of Justice Susan B. Glasser on the ex-President’s snarly mug shot from Fulton County Jail.
—
Vinson Cunningham, The New Yorker, 25 Aug. 2023
The band has been marred with decades of fluctuating lineups and snarly lawsuits among band members.
—Rasha Ali, USA TODAY, 22 Dec. 2022
And then the Colonel becomes billionaire Gustav Graves, played by Stephens with a snarly grin and a solar ray.
—Darren Franich, EW.com, 23 Nov. 2022
With a snarly demeanor and vast domed foreheads, they were fashioned from stone and came in pairs — male and female, representing yin and yang — and were also placed at the entrances of temples (and homes) for protection.
—New York Times, 19 Aug. 2021
Then, in addition, scatter 100 bistro sets around the plaza for the season, and perhaps bring in an extra espresso-and-pastries cart or three, and maybe a cocktail bar if the red tape isn’t too snarly.
—Christopher Bonanos, Curbed, 16 Apr. 2021
This even gives the machine the option of trying to evade snarly questions by pretending to be a foreigner, with a limited grasp of local culture and vocabulary.
—IEEE Spectrum, 30 June 2015
Vinson Cunningham, The New Yorker, 25 Aug. 2023
The band has been marred with decades of fluctuating lineups and snarly lawsuits among band members.
—Rasha Ali, USA TODAY, 22 Dec. 2022
And then the Colonel becomes billionaire Gustav Graves, played by Stephens with a snarly grin and a solar ray.
—Darren Franich, EW.com, 23 Nov. 2022
With a snarly demeanor and vast domed foreheads, they were fashioned from stone and came in pairs — male and female, representing yin and yang — and were also placed at the entrances of temples (and homes) for protection.
—New York Times, 19 Aug. 2021
Then, in addition, scatter 100 bistro sets around the plaza for the season, and perhaps bring in an extra espresso-and-pastries cart or three, and maybe a cocktail bar if the red tape isn’t too snarly.
—Christopher Bonanos, Curbed, 16 Apr. 2021
This even gives the machine the option of trying to evade snarly questions by pretending to be a foreigner, with a limited grasp of local culture and vocabulary.
—IEEE Spectrum, 30 June 2015
Recent Examples of Synonyms for snarly
Adjective
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With two adults, three children, and one ornery cat living in the same house, keeping track of everyone’s stuff can sometimes seem overwhelming.—
Libby Monteith Minor,
Southern Living,
21 Feb. 2026
-
But Duvall rose to prominence the next decade, first as the ornery Major Frank Burns in the 1970 antiwar comedy M*A*S*H, reuniting with Robert Altman, who’d previously cast him in 1967’s Countdown.—
Tim Grierson,
Rolling Stone,
16 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
High pop flys in left field during day games at the club’s spring ballpark have proven at times to be a cantankerous venture.—
Shawn McFarland,
Dallas Morning News,
22 Feb. 2026
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Close leads the series as Maud Oldcastle, an older woman described as cantankerous and also a killer.—
John Hopewell,
Variety,
18 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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This canonical part has been played by some of the foremost women of the British stage, among them Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, and Edith Evans, who, in Anthony Asquith’s 1952 film adaptation, put a delightfully querulous spin on Lady Bracknell’s most indelible lines.—
Rebecca Mead,
New Yorker,
17 Nov. 2025
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Trying to Kill Each Other' And Walken is marvelous — querulous, petty, cruel — as the Emperor.—
Tom Gliatto,
Peoplemag,
29 Feb. 2024
Adjective
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The actor, who portrays surly Russian hockey captain Ilya Rozanov in the show, is in no way, shape or form Russian, and learned to speak the language rather flawlessly in just three weeks before filming.—
Dan Heching,
CNN Money,
28 Feb. 2026
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The booms from the ice cracking sounded like a chorus of slamming doors, as if Poseidon had hundreds of surly teenagers living underwater with him.—
Robert Annis,
Outside,
24 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Sun shrinking and getting hotter; everything bilious, oxygenless, not great for living.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 Nov. 2025
-
Minaj’s bilious flurry is possibly related to claims that she is owed between $100 to 200 million related to her stake in Tidal, the music streaming service launched and spearheaded by Jay-Z in 2015 and was sold to Jack Dorsey’s company Square for $297 million in 2021.—
Andrew Flanagan,
Variety,
15 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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And what of the gently curmudgeonly man of letters who runs an after-school study room for children, tutoring them in everything from multiplication tables to Victor Hugo?—
Justin Chang,
New Yorker,
27 Feb. 2026
-
Sybil lives alone and spends her days fountain-penning personal letters and occasional emails that tell the story of her loves, losses, sorrows and deep regrets, through her alternately curmudgeonly and generous-hearted persona.—
Patricia Steckler,
Baltimore Sun,
21 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Rather than get irritable online, Medeiros did something positive about it.—
Dan Medeiros,
The Herald News,
27 Feb. 2026
-
Manic episodes are described as prolonged periods of mood instability, in which a person can experience extreme increases in energy or euphoria, or alternatively, feel depressed or unusually irritable.—
Edward Segarra,
USA Today,
24 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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The day was cold and disagreeable, disappointing those who hoped for warm, sunny weather for the contest between Bogardus and Carver.—
AJ Willingham,
AJC.com,
24 Feb. 2026
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This will also result in a disagreeable flavor most people will not enjoy.—
BestReviews,
Mercury News,
12 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Snarly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/snarly. Accessed 11 Mar. 2026.
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