snarled; snarling; snarls
1
: to cause to become knotted and intertwined : tangle
2
: to make excessively complicated
: to become snarled
1
: a tangle especially of hairs or thread : knot
2
: a tangled situation
traffic snarls
snarled; snarling; snarls
1
: to growl with a snapping, gnashing, or display of teeth
2
: to give vent to anger in surly language
: to utter or express with a snarl or by snarling
Synonyms
Verb (1)
Noun (1)
Verb (2)
Examples of snarl in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Alex De Waal, Foreign Affairs, 8 Apr. 2024
Biden made his comments after an aerial tour of the bridge, which was struck by a cargo ship on March 26, snarling ship and vehicle traffic for the busy port of Baltimore.
—Franco Ordoñez, NPR, 5 Apr. 2024
More:The April total solar eclipse could snarl traffic for hours across thousands of miles
When a total solar eclipse passed over the U.S. in 2017, reports say some traffic jams didn't fully clear for more than 12 hours in some areas.
—Doyle Rice, USA TODAY, 28 Mar. 2024
This year, officials said six whale entanglements have been confirmed, and a dead Pacific leatherback sea turtle that got snarled in old gear from a previous year was discovered off the Farallon Islands on Nov. 24.
—Linda Zavoral, The Mercury News, 28 Mar. 2024
Concern swelled about how traffic would snarl elsewhere in the state.
—Krystal Hur, CNN, 28 Mar. 2024
The container ship that stuck the Key bridge around 1:40 a.m. Tuesday remained snarled in the span’s twisted wreckage, blocking the sole channel that connects the Port of Baltimore to the Atlantic Ocean.
—David J. Lynch, Washington Post, 26 Mar. 2024
An estimated 31 million Americans already live on the path, while millions more tourists are already making travel plans – sure to snarl traffic – to catch a glimpse of what is sure to be a spectacular sight, according to eclipse cartographer Michael Zeiler at GreatAmericanEclipse.com.
—USA TODAY, 25 Mar. 2024
Outside, pro-Palestinian protesters calling for a cease-fire snarled traffic ahead of the event.
—Ryan Faughnder, Los Angeles Times, 11 Mar. 2024
Danny Nguyen, Washington Post, 10 Apr. 2024
With Miller’s typically clever wordplay and the right mix of tangy twang and class-A amplifier snarl, the quartet have spent the years since expanding their sound to include roots rock, rockabilly, garage, and other typically raw variations-on-a-theme on nearly two dozen long players.
—Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 3 Apr. 2024
As for 2024, inflation and supply chain snarls could continue being in the backdrop, but Inditex is already seeing a boost in shopping.
—Prarthana Prakash, Fortune Europe, 15 Mar. 2024
The supply chain snarls that followed the pandemic have been mostly unsnarled.
—Francisco Velasquez, Quartz, 18 Mar. 2024
Meanwhile, there’s a risk that the supply chain snarls that triggered inflation in the early days of the pandemic could flare again because of military conflict in the Red Sea, Barclays says.
—Paul Davidson, USA TODAY, 31 Jan. 2024
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Introduction
Two of these input pleats feed into a complicated snarl of folds called a gadget.
—Jordana Cepelewicz, Quanta Magazine, 30 Jan. 2024
Ed Clissold, chief U.S. strategist for Ned Davis Research, says companies have been boosting their profit margins recently by reducing shipping costs as supply chain snarls have resolved.
—Paul Davidson, The Courier-Journal, 22 Jan. 2024
En route to the Algarve, the Sport SV’s downsized V-8 still snarls when prodded, packs decisively more punch, yet never draws undue attention to itself.
—Lawrence Ulrich, Robb Report, 20 Feb. 2024
Verb
Having set the hounds loose, Abiy now faced their snarling jaws.
—Alex De Waal, Foreign Affairs, 8 Apr. 2024
Biden made his comments after an aerial tour of the bridge, which was struck by a cargo ship on March 26, snarling ship and vehicle traffic for the busy port of Baltimore.
—Franco Ordoñez, NPR, 5 Apr. 2024
More:The April total solar eclipse could snarl traffic for hours across thousands of miles
When a total solar eclipse passed over the U.S. in 2017, reports say some traffic jams didn't fully clear for more than 12 hours in some areas.
—Doyle Rice, USA TODAY, 28 Mar. 2024
This year, officials said six whale entanglements have been confirmed, and a dead Pacific leatherback sea turtle that got snarled in old gear from a previous year was discovered off the Farallon Islands on Nov. 24.
—Linda Zavoral, The Mercury News, 28 Mar. 2024
Concern swelled about how traffic would snarl elsewhere in the state.
—Krystal Hur, CNN, 28 Mar. 2024
The container ship that stuck the Key bridge around 1:40 a.m. Tuesday remained snarled in the span’s twisted wreckage, blocking the sole channel that connects the Port of Baltimore to the Atlantic Ocean.
—David J. Lynch, Washington Post, 26 Mar. 2024
An estimated 31 million Americans already live on the path, while millions more tourists are already making travel plans – sure to snarl traffic – to catch a glimpse of what is sure to be a spectacular sight, according to eclipse cartographer Michael Zeiler at GreatAmericanEclipse.com.
—USA TODAY, 25 Mar. 2024
Outside, pro-Palestinian protesters calling for a cease-fire snarled traffic ahead of the event.
—Ryan Faughnder, Los Angeles Times, 11 Mar. 2024
Noun
Construction industry snarls over the past decade have resulted in an annual shortage of more than 700,000 construction workers nationwide, according to a report from the Home Builders Institute.
—Danny Nguyen, Washington Post, 10 Apr. 2024
With Miller’s typically clever wordplay and the right mix of tangy twang and class-A amplifier snarl, the quartet have spent the years since expanding their sound to include roots rock, rockabilly, garage, and other typically raw variations-on-a-theme on nearly two dozen long players.
—Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 3 Apr. 2024
As for 2024, inflation and supply chain snarls could continue being in the backdrop, but Inditex is already seeing a boost in shopping.
—Prarthana Prakash, Fortune Europe, 15 Mar. 2024
The supply chain snarls that followed the pandemic have been mostly unsnarled.
—Francisco Velasquez, Quartz, 18 Mar. 2024
Meanwhile, there’s a risk that the supply chain snarls that triggered inflation in the early days of the pandemic could flare again because of military conflict in the Red Sea, Barclays says.
—Paul Davidson, USA TODAY, 31 Jan. 2024
Share this article Newsletter Get Quanta Magazine delivered to your inbox
Recent newsletters
Introduction
Two of these input pleats feed into a complicated snarl of folds called a gadget.
—Jordana Cepelewicz, Quanta Magazine, 30 Jan. 2024
Ed Clissold, chief U.S. strategist for Ned Davis Research, says companies have been boosting their profit margins recently by reducing shipping costs as supply chain snarls have resolved.
—Paul Davidson, The Courier-Journal, 22 Jan. 2024
En route to the Algarve, the Sport SV’s downsized V-8 still snarls when prodded, packs decisively more punch, yet never draws undue attention to itself.
—Lawrence Ulrich, Robb Report, 20 Feb. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'snarl.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near snarl
Cite this Entry
“Snarl.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/snarl. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
snarl
1 of 4 noun1
: a tangle especially of hairs or thread : knot
2
: a tangled situation
a traffic snarl
snarl
2 of 4 verb
: to get into a tangle
snarl
3 of 4 verb1
: to growl with a snapping or showing of teeth
2
: to speak in an angry way
3
: to utter with a snarl
snarler
noun
snarl
4 of 4 noun
: an angry growl
Etymology
Noun
Middle English snarle "snare, noose," probably from snarlen "to trap, entangle"
Verb
from obsolete snar "to growl"
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