snarled; snarling; snarls
1
: to cause to become knotted and intertwined : tangle
2
: to make excessively complicated
: to become snarled
1
: a tangle especially of hairs or thread : knot
2
: a tangled situation
traffic snarls
snarled; snarling; snarls
1
: to growl with a snapping, gnashing, or display of teeth
2
: to give vent to anger in surly language
: to utter or express with a snarl or by snarling
Synonyms
Verb (1)
Noun (1)
Verb (2)
Examples of snarl in a Sentence
Verb (1)
you'll be awfully sorry if you snarl your fishing line
Noun (1)
to no avail, the city promotes carpooling to help ease the traffic snarls that always accompany rush hour
Verb (2)
she snarled at me after I kept badgering her with questions
Recent Examples on the Web
Andrew Freedman, Axios, 7 Jan. 2025
Heavy snow starting to accumulate in the City of Washington
Heavy snow starting to accumulate in the City of Washington 01:47
A winter storm that is spreading across much of the U.S. is snarling travel, with thousands of flights either canceled or delayed on Monday morning.
—Aimee Picchi, CBS News, 6 Jan. 2025
John Cassidy, The New Yorker, 20 Jan. 2025
Triggered with foot pedals, a wellspring of distorted, bluesy and overdriven tones furnished certain riffs and solos with an enticing snarl — and a rock ‘n’ roll edge in line with what should serve as her estimable mission statement.
—Bob Gendron, Chicago Tribune, 18 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for snarl 
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Verb
The latest: As of Monday, total snowfall in Franklin County ranged from 2 to 6.5 inches, shutting down schools and snarling roads.
—Andrew Freedman, Axios, 7 Jan. 2025
Heavy snow starting to accumulate in the City of Washington
Heavy snow starting to accumulate in the City of Washington 01:47
A winter storm that is spreading across much of the U.S. is snarling travel, with thousands of flights either canceled or delayed on Monday morning.
—Aimee Picchi, CBS News, 6 Jan. 2025
Noun
The fact that inflation started coming down in the second half of 2022, before the Fed’s interest-rate hikes had had much impact on demand, is another strong indication that snarls in supply were primarily to blame for the earlier spike.
—John Cassidy, The New Yorker, 20 Jan. 2025
Triggered with foot pedals, a wellspring of distorted, bluesy and overdriven tones furnished certain riffs and solos with an enticing snarl — and a rock ‘n’ roll edge in line with what should serve as her estimable mission statement.
—Bob Gendron, Chicago Tribune, 18 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for snarl
Dictionary Entries Near snarl
Cite this Entry
“Snarl.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/snarl. Accessed 11 Feb. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
snarl
1 of 4 noun1
: a tangle especially of hairs or thread : knot
2
: a tangled situation
a traffic snarl
snarl
2 of 4 verb
: to get into a tangle
snarl
3 of 4 verb1
: to growl with a snapping or showing of teeth
2
: to speak in an angry way
3
: to utter with a snarl
snarler
noun
snarl
4 of 4 noun
: an angry growl
Etymology
Noun
Middle English snarle "snare, noose," probably from snarlen "to trap, entangle"
Verb
from obsolete snar "to growl"
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