a knot on the trunk or branch of a tree
Origin of gnarl
back-formation from gnarled to make knotted or twisted; contort
to form gnarls
noun
- The definition of a gnarl is a twisted or knotted part of a tree trunk or branch.
An example of a gnarl is the enlarged part of tree where a branch meets the trunk.
- Gnarl is defined as to knot, twist or growl.
An example of gnarl is to make a scary face by twisting up your face.
YourDictionary definition and usage example. Copyright © 2018 by LoveToKnow Corp
Link to this page
Cite this page
MLA Style
"gnarl." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 22 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Gnarl>.
APA Style
gnarl. (n.d.). Retrieved January 22nd, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Gnarl
gnarl
Obs. to snarl; growl
Origin of gnarl
frequentative of echoic gnarWebster's New World College Dictionary, Fifth Edition Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Link to this page
Cite this page
MLA Style
"gnarl." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 22 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Gnarl>.
APA Style
gnarl. (n.d.). Retrieved January 22nd, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Gnarl
gnarl
intransitive verb
gnarled, gnarl·ing, gnarlsTo snarl; growl.
Origin of gnarl
Frequentative of gnarnoun
A protruding knot on a tree.
transitive verb
gnarled, gnarl·ing, gnarlsTo make knotted; twist.
Origin of gnarl
Back-formation from gnarledTHE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Link to this page
Cite this page
MLA Style
"gnarl." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 22 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Gnarl>.
APA Style
gnarl. (n.d.). Retrieved January 22nd, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Gnarl
Noun
(plural gnarls)
- A knot in wood; a large or hard knot, or a protuberance with twisted grain, on a tree.
- Something resembling a knot in wood, such as in stone or limbs.
- (mathematics) The average value of the magnitude squared of the curl of a vector field over a continuous path that is tangent to the vector field at every point. In mathematical notation, gnarl is represented by the lowercase Greek letter ξ.
Verb
(third-person singular simple present gnarls, present participle gnarling, simple past and past participle gnarled)
- To knot or twist something.
Origin
Back-formation from gnarled.
Verb
(third-person singular simple present gnarls, present participle gnarling, simple past and past participle gnarled)
Origin
Onomatopoeia
English Wiktionary. Available under CC-BY-SA license.
Link to this page
Cite this page
MLA Style
"gnarl." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 22 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Gnarl>.
APA Style
gnarl. (n.d.). Retrieved January 22nd, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Gnarl
Sentence Examples
- He was a mean man who tended to gnarl out his answers.
- The gnarl in the branch made it harder for the squirrels to run up the branch.
- He was not able to cut through the gnarl of the tree.
- He was so scared that his face was twisted up into a gnarl.
- The top of the oak table showed the unusual grain that was caused by the gnarl in the oak tree's trunk.
» more...