gnarly

adjective

ˈnär-lē 

gnarlier; gnarliest

1

: gnarled

gnarly branches

2

slang : very bad: such as

a

: very difficult or challenging to deal with

a gnarly [=thorny, knotty] problem

gnarly conditions

Having … skidded around gnarly hairpin turns … , the two bikers pedaled furiously for the finish.

—Austin Murphy

b

: nasty, unpleasant

"This guy has some pretty gnarly karma coming …"

—Drew Barrymore

c

: arousing disgust or distaste : gross

A cute toe polish can't save gnarly, callused soles.

—Jessica R. White

" … It'll be kind of a gruesome death. You know, its fur will start falling out, it'll develop gnarly sores all over its body. … "

—David Randall

3

slang : cool, excellent

After initially wiping out on the left wave, [Filipe] Toledo responded with a gnarly air reverse on the right and was rewarded with a 9.27.

—Hanford Sentinel

especially : having a pleasingly or impressively rugged or rough quality

He played in the NFL, but then got bored with football and became a FBI agent. He was a gnarly dude.

—Reece Kelley Graham

And yet [Mark] Knopfler built a reputation as an intensely creative virtuoso (not to mention an ace songwriter), showing remarkable command over a range of tones and textures—from the gnarly distortion on hit single "Money for Nothing" to the stinging precision of "Tunnel of Love."

—Rolling Stone

Examples of gnarly in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Advertisement Sally Jacobs’ botanical art L.A. botanical artist Sally Jacobs does exacting, exquisite renderings of all things botanical, from gorgeous flowers to the gnarly details of a celery root to the rich Renaissance-style details of a turban squash (above). —Jeanette Marantos, Los Angeles Times, 3 Nov. 2024

The best celebrity Halloween costumes of 2024 The latter half of the film explodes with blood (36,000 gallons, to be exact), guts, and tons of gnarly prosthetics. —Ryan Coleman, EW.com, 31 Oct. 2024

Many of us might be familiar with the heated skin and gnarly new tanlines that follow us home after a day spent under the sun – but what happens when sunburn becomes serious? —Katie Liu, Discover Magazine, 7 Oct. 2024

The reveal of the prosthetic Valeria corpse is gnarly, but my dark passenger is not sated by Teacup’s gore, which was essentially limited to Claire, that dog, and Donad’s forearm in the second episode. —James Grebey, Vulture, 31 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

see gnarled

First Known Use

1760, in the meaning defined at sense 1