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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

snarl.

To entangle; to complicate; to involve in knots.

5 characters1 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

verb/ˈsnɑː(ɹ)l/
  1. To entangle; to complicate; to involve in knots.

    transitive
    to snarl a skein of thread
  2. To become entangled.

    intransitive
  3. To place in an embarrassing situation; to ensnare; to make overly complicated.

    transitive
  4. To be congested in traffic, or to make traffic congested.

    intransitive · transitive
  5. To form raised work upon the outer surface of (thin metal ware) by the repercussion of a snarling iron upon the inner surface; to repoussé

Where this word comes from

From Middle English snarlen, frequentative of snaren (“to trap, tangle”). Equivalent to snare + -le.

noun/ˈsnɑː(ɹ)l/
  1. A knot or complication of hair, thread, or the like, difficult to disentangle.

  2. An intricate complication; a problematic difficulty; a knotty or tangled situation.

  3. A slow-moving traffic jam.

Where this word comes from

From Middle English snarlen, frequentative of snaren (“to trap, tangle”). Equivalent to snare + -le.

verb/ˈsnɑː(ɹ)l/
  1. To growl angrily by gnashing or baring the teeth; to gnarl; to utter grumbling sounds.

    intransitive
  2. To complain angrily; to utter growlingly.

    transitive
  3. To speak crossly; to talk in rude, surly terms.

    intransitive
Where this word comes from

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”).

noun/ˈsnɑː(ɹ)l/
  1. The act of snarling; a growl; a surly or peevish expression; an angry contention.

  2. A growl, for example that of an angry or surly dog, or similar; grumbling sounds.

  3. A squabble.

Where this word comes from

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”).

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.