Adjacent Words

gnarl definitions

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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: something twisted and tight and swollen; "their muscles stood out in knots"; "the old man's fists were two great gnarls"; "his stomach was in knots" [syn: knot, gnarl] v
1: twist into a state of deformity; "The wind has gnarled this old tree"
2: make complaining remarks or noises under one's breath; "she grumbles when she feels overworked" [syn: murmur, mutter, grumble, croak, gnarl]

Merriam Webster's

I. intransitive verb Etymology: probably frequentative of gnar Date: 1593 snarl, growl II. transitive verb Etymology: back-formation from gnarled Date: 1814 to twist into a state of deformity III. noun Date: 1805 a hard protuberance with twisted grain on a tree

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Gnarl Gnarl, n. [See Gnar, n.] a knot in wood; a large or hard knot, or a protuberance with twisted grain, on a tree.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Gnarl Gnarl, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Gnarled; p. pr. & vb. n. Gnarling.] [From older gnar, prob. of imitative origin; cf. G. knarren, knurren. D. knorren, Sw. knorra, Dan. knurre.] To growl; to snarl. And wolves are gnarling who shall gnaw thee first. --Shak.

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. v. n.; (also gnarr) Growl, snarl, murmur, grumble. II. n. Protuberance, knot, contortion, snag, gnarled lump.

Moby Thesaurus

anamorphism, anamorphosis, asymmetry, bend, bilge, blain, bleb, blister, blob, boss, bow, bubble, buckle, bulb, bulge, bulla, bump, bunch, burl, button, cahot, chine, clump, coarsen, color, condyle, contort, contortion, convex, crook, crookedness, crumple, detorsion, deviation, disproportion, distort, distortion, dowel, ear, flange, flap, flush, frown, gall, glare, glower, granulate, growl, grumble, handle, hill, hiss, horripilate, hump, hunch, imbalance, irregularity, jog, joggle, knob, knot, knur, knurl, lip, look daggers, loop, lopsidedness, lower, lump, mantle, mole, mountain, nevus, nub, nubbin, nubble, papilloma, peg, pimple, quirk, redden, rib, ridge, ring, rough, rough up, roughen, scowl, screw, shoulder, snap, snarl, spine, spit, spring, stud, style, tab, torsion, tortuosity, tubercle, tubercule, turn, turn awry, twist, unsymmetry, verruca, vesicle, wale, warp, wart, welt, wrench, wrest, wring, writhe