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gnarled - 7 dictionary results

gnarled

  [nahrld]
Use gnarled in a Sentence
–adjective
1. (of trees) full of or covered with gnarls; bent; twisted.
2. having a rugged, weather-beaten appearance: a gnarled old sea captain.
3. crabby; cantankerous.
Origin:
1595–1605; var. of knurled

gnarl

1  [nahrl]
–noun
1. a knotty protuberance on a tree; knot.
–verb (used with object)
2. to twist into a knotted or distorted form.
Origin:
1805–15; back formation from gnarled

Synonyms:
2. contort, distort.

gnarl

2  [nahrl]
–verb (used without object)
to growl; snarl.
Origin:
1585–95; var. of gnar
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To gnarled
gnarl 1   (närl)   
intr.v.   gnarled, gnarl·ing, gnarls
To snarl; growl.

[Frequentative of gnar.]
gnarl 2   (närl)   
n.  A protruding knot on a tree.
tr.v.   gnarled, gnarl·ing, gnarls
To make knotted; twist.

[Back-formation from gnarled.]
gnarled   (närld)   
adj.  
  1. Having gnarls; knotty or misshapen: gnarled branches.
  2. Morose or peevish; crabbed.
  3. Rugged and roughened, as from old age or work: the gnarled hands of a carpenter.

[Probably variant of knarled, from knarl, tangle, knot, alteration of Middle English knarre, knot in wood; see knar.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Gnarled

Gnarled\, a. Knotty; full of knots or gnarls; twisted; crossgrained.

The unwedgeable and gnarl['e]d oak. --Shak.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : gnarled
Spanish: nudoso, retorcido,
German: knorrig,
Japanese: ねじれた
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