Link Centre Dictionary

snarl

UK/ˈsnɑː(ɹ)l/ US/ˈsnɑrl/ uncommon
verb (4) noun (3)

verb

1.

utter in an angry, sharp, or abrupt tone

  • “The sales clerky snapped a reply at the angry customer”
  • “The guard snarled at us”
Synonyms
2.

make a snarling noise or move with a snarling noise

  • “Bullets snarled past us”
3.

twist together or entwine into a confusing mass

  • “The child entangled the cord”
Synonyms
Antonyms
4.

make more complicated or confused through entanglements

Synonyms

noun

1.
2.
3.

something jumbled or confused

  • “a tangle of government regulations”
Synonyms

Origin

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”).

Phrases

  • snarl up
  • snarl word
  • snarling iron

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Narrower terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.