- any knotty protuberance or swelling on a tree
- (transitive) to knot or cause to knot
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
gnarl1
(närl),USA pronunciation n.
v.t.
gnarl2 (närl),USA pronunciation v.i.
- Botanya knotty protuberance on a tree;
knot.
v.t.
- to twist into a knotted or distorted form.
- back formation from gnarled 1805–15
- 2. . contort, distort.
gnarl2 (närl),USA pronunciation v.i.
- to growl;
snarl.
- variant of gnar 1585–95
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
gnarl /nɑːl/ n
'gnarl' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):