snarl

1 of 4

verb (1)

ˈsnär(-ə)l 

snarled; snarling; snarls

transitive verb

1

: to cause to become knotted and intertwined : tangle

2

: to make excessively complicated

intransitive verb

: to become snarled

snarl

2 of 4

noun (1)

1

: a tangle especially of hairs or thread : knot

2

: a tangled situation

traffic snarls

snarl

3 of 4

verb (2)

snarled; snarling; snarls

intransitive verb

1

: to growl with a snapping, gnashing, or display of teeth

2

: to give vent to anger in surly language

transitive verb

: to utter or express with a snarl or by snarling

snarl

4 of 4

noun (2)

: a surly angry growl

snarly

ˈsnär-lē 

adjective

Synonyms

Verb (1)

• entangle
• interlace
• intertwine
• intertwist
• interweave
• knot
• tangle

Noun (1)

• backup
• bottleneck
• jam
• jam-up
• logjam
• tailback [British]
• tie-up

Verb (2)

• bark
• snap

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

Verb

The slow-moving trucks would snarl traffic through the interchange, which already sees half of all traffic accidents in the 9.5-square-mile village, and further endanger the public, Offerman said. —John Lippert, Chicago Tribune, 22 June 2024

Expand All An early June deluge has once again turned South Florida’s roads and parks into rivers and lakes, snarling traffic, stalling cars and sending residents sloshing through streets, shoes in hand. —Alex Harris, Miami Herald, 13 June 2024

Noun

Norman Siegel, who represents the garden, said that given the legal snarls, the space could get stuck in limbo. —Téa Kvetenadze, New York Daily News, 25 May 2024

Companies heavily stocked up in 2021 in response to supply chain snarls and product shortages, leading to big swings in the past couple of years. —Paul Davidson, USA TODAY, 25 Apr. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Verb (1)

Middle English, to trap, entangle, probably frequentative of snaren to snare

Noun (1)

Middle English snarle snare, noose, probably from snarlen, verb

Verb (2)

frequentative of obsolete English snar to growl; akin to Middle Low German snorren to drone, rattle

First Known Use

Verb (1)

14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Noun (1)

1609, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb (2)

1589, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Noun (2)

1613, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing snarl

• snarl up

Kids Definition

snarl

1 of 4 noun

ˈsnär(-ə)l 

1

: 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 verb

1

: 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"