SNARL
What does "SNARL" mean?
To growl with bared teeth, or to speak in an angry, threatening way.
Meanings
- To make an angry growling sound while showing the teeth, as a dog does. The stray snarled and backed into the corner when we approached.
- To speak or say something in a sharp, angry, hostile tone. "Get out," she snarled, and slammed the door.
- To tangle or knot something, or to become tangled. The kite string snarled around the branch.
- A tangle, knot, or confused mass; a state of confusion. Rush hour turned the intersection into a snarl of stalled traffic.
Word origin
The 'growl' sense comes from Middle English 'snar' (to growl), of Low German origin and imitative in nature; the 'tangle' sense is from Middle English 'snarle', a diminutive of 'snare'.
Remember it
SNARL sounds like the gnarl of a dog's curled lip — and its meaning curls into a knot too.
A little poem
Lip lifts off the tooth-
a low rope of sound pulled tight
between us. Don't move.
haiku
Wordplay
- The dog and the traffic jam had the same problem: both were a real snarl.
What it teaches
The same word names a curled lip and a tangled knot — anger and confusion are rarely far apart.
Quick facts
What does SNARL mean?
To growl with bared teeth, or to speak in an angry, threatening way.
Is SNARL a valid word?
Yes — SNARL is one of the answer words in Wordul, the daily word game.
How many letters is SNARL?
SNARL has 5 letters and 1 syllable.
Where does SNARL come from?
The 'growl' sense comes from Middle English 'snar' (to growl), of Low German origin and imitative in nature; the 'tangle' sense is from Middle English 'snarle', a diminutive of 'snare'.
What can SNARL teach us?
The same word names a curled lip and a tangled knot — anger and confusion are rarely far apart.
How players do
Be the first to solve it.