snarl

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsnɑː(ɹ)l/

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɑː(ɹ)l

Etymology 1

From Middle English snarlen, frequentative of snaren (“to trap, tangle”). Equivalent to snare +‎ -le.

Verb

snarl (third-person singular simple present snarls, present participle snarling, simple past and past participle snarled)

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

   to snarl a skein of thread

   • 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book III, Canto XII”, in The Faerie Queene. , London: [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 17:

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

2. (intransitive) To become entangled.
3. (transitive) To place in an embarrassing situation; to ensnare; to make overly complicated.
   • November 9, 1550, Hugh Latimer, Sermon Preached at Stanford

     question that they would have snarled him with

4. (transitive, intransitive) To be congested in traffic, or to make traffic congested.
5. 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

Derived terms

• ensnarl
• snarl up, snarl-up
• snarling iron
• unsnarl

Translations

Noun

snarl (plural snarls)

1. A knot or complication of hair, thread, or the like, difficult to disentangle.

   Synonym: entanglement

2. An intricate complication; a problematic difficulty; a knotty or tangled situation.

   Synonym: imbroglio

3. A slow-moving traffic jam.
   • 2019 November 21, Samanth Subramanian, “How our home delivery habit reshaped the world”, in The Guardian‎:

     The biggest cities feel the most acute impact of the last mile – of the squads of trucks and vans, the parcel hubs and sorting centres, the parking snarls and the discarded boxes.

Translations

Etymology 2

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”).

Verb

snarl (third-person singular simple present snarls, present participle snarling, simple past and past participle snarled)

1. (intransitive) To growl angrily by gnashing or baring the teeth; to gnarl; to utter grumbling sounds.
2. (transitive) To complain angrily; to utter growlingly.
3. (intransitive) To speak crossly; to talk in rude, surly terms.
   • 1697, John Dryden, “Preface to the Pastorals, with a Short Defence of Virgil, against Some of the Reflections of Monsieur Fontanelle ”, in Virgil, translated by John Dryden, The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. , London: Jacob Tonson, , →OCLC:

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

Derived terms

• snarling
• snarlingly

Translations

Noun

snarl (plural snarls)

1. The act of snarling; a growl; a surly or peevish expression; an angry contention.
2. A growl, for example that of an angry or surly dog, or similar; grumbling sounds.
3. A squabble.

Derived terms

• snarl word

Translations

Further reading

• “snarl”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “snarl”, in The Century Dictionary , New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
• “snarl”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
• Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “snarl”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
• “snarl”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.

Anagrams

• larns

Icelandic

Etymology

Back-formation from snarla.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /s(t)nartl/
• Rhymes: -artl

Noun

snarl n (genitive singular snarls, no plural)

1. snack (light meal)

Declension

See also

• snakk

Middle English

Alternative forms

• snarle

Etymology

Either from snare +‎ -el or a back-formation from snarlen.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /snarl/

Noun

snarl (plural snarles) (rare)

1. A trap for catching animals.
2. A noose or snare (rope loop)
3. (figuratively) A temptation or peril.

Descendants

• English: snarl
• Scots: snarl

References

• “snarl(e, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.