gnarlier; gnarliest
1
: gnarled
gnarly branches
2
slang
: very bad: such as
a
: very difficult or challenging to deal with
a gnarly [=thorny, knotty] problem
gnarly conditions
Having … skidded around gnarly hairpin turns … , the two bikers pedaled furiously for the finish.—
Austin Murphy
Austin Murphy
b
: nasty, unpleasant
"This guy has some pretty gnarly karma coming …"—Drew Barrymore
Drew Barrymore
c
: arousing disgust or distaste : gross
A cute toe polish can't save gnarly, callused soles.—Jessica R. White
Jessica R. White" … It'll be kind of a gruesome death. You know, its fur will start falling out, it'll develop gnarly sores all over its body. … "—David Randall
David Randall3
slang
: cool, excellent
After initially wiping out on the left wave, [Filipe] Toledo responded with a gnarly air reverse on the right and was rewarded with a 9.27.—Hanford Sentinel
Hanford Sentinel
especially
: having a pleasingly or impressively rugged or rough quality
He played in the NFL, but then got bored with football and became a FBI agent. He was a gnarly dude. —Reece Kelley Graham
Reece Kelley Graham And yet [Mark] Knopfler built a reputation as an intensely creative virtuoso (not to mention an ace songwriter), showing remarkable command over a range of tones and textures—from the gnarly distortion on hit single "Money for Nothing" to the stinging precision of "Tunnel of Love." —Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone Examples of gnarly in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The Niners had to deal with a gnarly rash of injuries to players such as Aiyuk, star running back Christian McCaffrey and future Hall of Fame left tackle Trent Williams.
—Robert Marvi, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 Sep. 2025
These two were working very stiff, including a gnarly pair of double-knees by Stephanie Vaquer to Kairi Sane.
—Alfred Konuwa, Forbes.com, 16 Sep. 2025
Cooper Hoffman, David Jonsson, and Charlie Plummer star as some of the young boys in this gnarly competition while Mark Hamill is the Major, the menacing officer supervising the walk.
—Savannah Salazar, Vulture, 13 Sep. 2025
Land Rover invited us to drive it the way it was intended—hard, fast, and on gnarly trails where cell service is as scarce as the uranium once mined from these hills.
—Kevin Sintumuang, Outside, 12 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for gnarly
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Robert Marvi, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 Sep. 2025
These two were working very stiff, including a gnarly pair of double-knees by Stephanie Vaquer to Kairi Sane.
—Alfred Konuwa, Forbes.com, 16 Sep. 2025
Cooper Hoffman, David Jonsson, and Charlie Plummer star as some of the young boys in this gnarly competition while Mark Hamill is the Major, the menacing officer supervising the walk.
—Savannah Salazar, Vulture, 13 Sep. 2025
Land Rover invited us to drive it the way it was intended—hard, fast, and on gnarly trails where cell service is as scarce as the uranium once mined from these hills.
—Kevin Sintumuang, Outside, 12 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for gnarly
Cite this Entry
“Gnarly.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gnarly. Accessed 22 Sep. 2025.
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