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Definition of "gnarled" []

  • Having gnarls; knotty or misshapen: gnarled branches. (adjective)
  • Morose or peevish; crabbed. (adjective)
  • Rugged and roughened, as from old age or work: the gnarled hands of a carpenter. (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "gnarled" in a sentence
  • "What kind of gnarled soul must one have not to crack a smile at the sight of a world-renowned Oscar winner belting out "Dancing Queen" in overalls?"
  • "The perpetual inversions, the habitual irony, the mingled tenderness and mockery, give a kind of gnarled surface to the style, which is pleasant when you get familiar with it, but which repels the stranger, and to some people even remains permanently disagreeable."
  • "Mr. Percy FitzGerald, on visiting it some years ago, ventured to seek of the "gnarled" waiter information on the momentous question of Mr. Pickwick and his adventure."