snarl

/snɑrl/

/snɑl/

Other forms: snarled; snarling; snarls

To snarl or make a snarl is to growl like an angry dog or speak abruptly and aggressively. A snarl can also be something tangled or confused.

If you've ever heard a dog growl, then you know what a snarl is: a dog's snarl says, "Back off!" When people snarl, they speak in an angry way that isn't shouting but sounds mean. A human snarl is abrupt, sharp, and unfriendly. Another sense of the word is when something gets mixed up, like if wires get tangled together: that tangle is called a snarl. This meaning comes from the earliest use of snarl, "a snare or a noose."

Definitions of snarl

1. verb

   utter in an angry, sharp, or abrupt tone
   “The guard snarled at us”

   synonyms: snap

   type of:

   mouth, speak, talk, utter, verbalise, verbalize

   express in speech
2. verb

   make a snarling noise or move with a snarling noise
   type of:

   go, sound

   make a certain noise or sound
3. noun

   a vicious angry growl
   type of:

   utterance, vocalization

   the use of uttered sounds for auditory communication
4. noun

   an angry vicious expression
   type of:

   facial expression, facial gesture

   a gesture executed with the facial muscles
5. verb

   twist together or entwine into a confusing mass
   synonyms: entangle, mat, tangle

   antonyms:

   unsnarl

   extricate from entanglement

   types:

   felt

   mat together and make felt-like

   enmesh, ensnarl, mesh

   entangle or catch in (or as if in) a mesh

   type of:

   distort, twine, twist

   form into a spiral shape
6. verb

   make more complicated or confused through entanglements
   synonyms: embrangle, snarl up

   types:

   snafu

   cause to be in a state of complete confusion

   type of:

   complicate, perplex

   make more complicated
7. noun

   something jumbled or confused
   synonyms: maze, tangle

   type of:

   perplexity

   trouble or confusion resulting from complexity