snarled; snarling; snarls
1
: to cause to become knotted and intertwined : tangle
2
: to make excessively complicated
: to become snarled
1
: a tangle especially of hairs or thread : knot
2
: a tangled situation
traffic snarls
snarled; snarling; snarls
1
: to growl with a snapping, gnashing, or display of teeth
2
: to give vent to anger in surly language
: to utter or express with a snarl or by snarling
Synonyms
Verb (1)
Noun (1)
Verb (2)
Examples of snarl in a Sentence
Verb (1)
you'll be awfully sorry if you snarl your fishing line
Noun (1)
to no avail, the city promotes carpooling to help ease the traffic snarls that always accompany rush hour
Verb (2)
she snarled at me after I kept badgering her with questions
Recent Examples on the Web
Max Zahn, ABC News, 11 Oct. 2024
The move ends a strike that had snarled East Coast and Gulf Coast ports since the beginning of the week and threatened U.S. supply of fruits, automobiles, and other goods.
—Kif Leswing,lori Ann Larocco, CNBC, 3 Oct. 2024
Patrick McGeehan, New York Times, 2 Apr. 2024
Early 2021: Shipping snarls and worker shortages from the coronavirus pandemic continue to hurt the supply
April 2021: Inflation rates cross 4% and increase rapidly
Early 2022: Energy and food prices spike due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
—Trefis Team, Forbes, 1 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for snarl 
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Verb
Not long ago, a once-in-a-century pandemic upended the economy, sending millions nationwide into lockdown and snarling the global supply chain.
—Max Zahn, ABC News, 11 Oct. 2024
The move ends a strike that had snarled East Coast and Gulf Coast ports since the beginning of the week and threatened U.S. supply of fruits, automobiles, and other goods.
—Kif Leswing,lori Ann Larocco, CNBC, 3 Oct. 2024
Noun
The pipes are packed into the snarl of infrastructure under the streets that includes water and gas mains, power lines and fiber-optic cables.
—Patrick McGeehan, New York Times, 2 Apr. 2024
Early 2021: Shipping snarls and worker shortages from the coronavirus pandemic continue to hurt the supply
April 2021: Inflation rates cross 4% and increase rapidly
Early 2022: Energy and food prices spike due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
—Trefis Team, Forbes, 1 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for snarl
Dictionary Entries Near snarl
Cite this Entry
“Snarl.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/snarl. Accessed 24 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
snarl
1 of 4 noun1
: a tangle especially of hairs or thread : knot
2
: a tangled situation
a traffic snarl
snarl
2 of 4 verb
: to get into a tangle
snarl
3 of 4 verb1
: to growl with a snapping or showing of teeth
2
: to speak in an angry way
3
: to utter with a snarl
snarler
noun
snarl
4 of 4 noun
: an angry growl
Etymology
Noun
Middle English snarle "snare, noose," probably from snarlen "to trap, entangle"
Verb
from obsolete snar "to growl"
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share