snarl
English[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Etymology 1[edit]
From Middle English snarlen, frequentative of snaren (“to trap, tangle”). Equivalent to snare + -le.
Verb[edit]
snarl (third-person singular simple present snarls, present participle snarling, simple past and past participle snarled)
- (transitive) To entangle; to complicate; to involve in knots.
- to snarl a skein of thread
- 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book III, Canto XII”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 17:
- And from her backe her garments she did teare, / And from her head oft rent her snarled heare […]
- (intransitive) To become entangled.
- (transitive) To place in an embarrassing situation; to ensnare; to make overly complicated.
- November 9, 1550, Hugh Latimer, Sermon Preached at Stanford
- [the] question that they would have snarled him with
- November 9, 1550, Hugh Latimer, Sermon Preached at Stanford
- (transitive, intransitive) To be congested in traffic, or to make traffic congested.
- To form raised work upon the outer surface of (thin metal ware) by the repercussion of a snarling iron upon the inner surface.
Derived terms[edit]
Translations[edit]
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Noun[edit]
snarl (plural snarls)
- A knot or complication of hair, thread, or the like, difficult to disentangle.
- Synonym: entanglement
- An intricate complication; a problematic difficulty; a knotty or tangled situation.
- Synonym: imbroglio
- A slow-moving traffic jam.
- 2019 November 21, Samanth Subramanian, “How our home delivery habit reshaped the world”, in The Guardian[1]:
- The biggest cities feel the most acute impact of the last mile – of the squads of trucks and vans, the parcel hubs and sorting centres, the parking snarls and the discarded boxes.
Translations[edit]
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Etymology 2[edit]
Frequentative of earlier snar (“to growl”), perhaps from Middle Low German snorren (“to drone”), of probably imitative origin. Equivalent to snar + -le. Related to German schnarren (“to rattle”) and schnurren (“to hum, buzz”).
Verb[edit]
snarl (third-person singular simple present snarls, present participle snarling, simple past and past participle snarled)
- (intransitive) To growl angrily by gnashing or baring the teeth; to gnarl; to utter grumbling sounds.
- (transitive) To complain angrily; to utter growlingly.
- (intransitive) To speak crossly; to talk in rude, surly terms.
- 1697, John Dryden, “Preface to the Pastorals, with a Short Defence of Virgil, against Some of the Reflections of Monsieur Fontanelle [i.e., Bernard Le Bovier de Fontenelle]”, in Virgil, translated by John Dryden, The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC:
- It is malicious and unmanly to snarl at the little lapses of a pen, from which Virgil himself stands not exempted.
Derived terms[edit]
Translations[edit]
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Noun[edit]
snarl (plural snarls)

- The act of snarling; a growl; a surly or peevish expression; an angry contention.
- A growl, for example that of an angry or surly dog, or similar; grumbling sounds.
- A squabble.
Derived terms[edit]
Translations[edit]
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Further reading[edit]
- “snarl”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
- “snarl”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
- “snarl”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
- Douglas Harper (2001–2023), “snarl”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
- “snarl”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
Anagrams[edit]
Icelandic[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Back-formation from snarla.
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
snarl n (genitive singular snarls, no plural)
- snack (light meal)
Declension[edit]
See also[edit]
Middle English[edit]
Alternative forms[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Either from snare + -el or a back-formation from snarlen.
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
- A trap for catching animals.
- A noose or snare (rope loop)
- (figuratively) A temptation or peril.
Descendants[edit]
References[edit]
- “snarl(e, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
- English 1-syllable words
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- Rhymes:English/ɑː(ɹ)l
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