snarled
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snarl 1
(snärl)v. snarled, snarl·ing, snarls
v.intr.
1. To growl viciously while baring the teeth.
2. To speak angrily or threateningly.
v.tr.
To utter with anger or hostility: snarled a retort.
n.
1. A vicious growl.
2. A vicious, hostile utterance.
[Frequentative of obsolete snar, perhaps from Dutch or Low German snarren, to rattle, probably of imitative origin.]
snarl′er n.
snarl′ing·ly adv.
snarl′y adj.
snarl 2
(snärl)n.
1. A tangled mass, as of hair or yarn.
2. A confused, complicated, or tangled situation: a traffic snarl.
v. snarled, snarl·ing, snarls
v.intr.
To become tangled or confused.
v.tr.
1. To tangle or knot (hair, for example).
2. To confuse or complicate: Snow snarled the morning commute.
[Middle English snarle, trap, probably diminutive of snare; see snare1.]
snarl′er n.
snarl′y adj.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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Adj. | 1. | snarled - tangled in knots or snarls; "a mass of knotted string"; "snarled thread" tangled - in a confused mass; "pushed back her tangled hair"; "the tangled ropes" |
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