Snarl

Quick meaning: Snarl is a verb meaning (transitive) To entangle; to complicate; to involve in knots.

Meaning

(transitive) To entangle; to complicate; to involve in knots.

More Meanings

1. (intransitive) To become entangled.
2. (transitive) To place in an embarrassing situation; to ensnare; to make overly complicated.
3. (transitive, intransitive) To be congested in traffic, or to make traffic congested.
4. 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
5. A knot or complication of hair, thread, or the like, difficult to disentangle.
6. An intricate complication; a problematic difficulty; a knotty or tangled situation.
7. A slow-moving traffic jam.

Example Sentences

to snarl a skein of thread

And from her backe her garments she did teare, / And from her head oft rent her snarled heare[…]

November 9, 1550, Hugh Latimer, Sermon Preached at Stanford [the] question that they would have snarled him with

It is malicious and unmanly to snarl at the little lapses of a pen, from which Virgil himself stands not exempted.

Word Forms

• snarls
• snarling
• snarled

Synonyms for snarl

Depending on context, synonyms include ensnare, ensnarl, ravel, enmesh, entangle, foul.

Antonyms for snarl

Common opposites include disentangle, unsnarl.

Related Words

Related dictionary entries include snarl up, tangle, entangle, embrangle, snap, complication.

Related Dictionary Tools