snarl
noun/snɑːl/
/snɑːrl/
- [usually singular] a deep sound that an animal makes when it is angry and shows its teeth
- The dog bared its teeth in a snarl.
- The dog turned with a snarl to attack me.
- [usually singular] an act of speaking in a rough, low, angry voice; the sound you make when you are angry, in pain, etc.
- a snarl of hate
- She answered with an angry snarl.
- She gave him a snarl.
- (informal) something that has become twisted in an untidy way
- She used conditioner to remove the snarls from her hair.
- (also snarl-up)(British English, informal) a situation in which traffic is unable to move
- rush-hour traffic snarls
Word Originnoun senses 1 to 2 late 16th cent.: extension of obsolete snar, of Germanic origin; related to German schnarren ‘rattle, snarl’, probably imitative. noun senses 3 to 4 late Middle English (in the senses ‘snare, noose’ and ‘catch in a snare’): from snare.
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snarl