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
Verb (1)
you'll be awfully sorry if you snarl your fishing line
Noun (1)
to no avail, the city promotes carpooling to help ease the traffic snarls that always accompany rush hour
Verb (2)
she snarled at me after I kept badgering her with questions
Recent Examples on the Web
Michelle Deal-Zimmerman, Baltimore Sun, 6 Dec. 2024
Until recently, work for Metro Transit's B Line bus rapid transit project also snarled Uptown traffic on Lake Street and Lagoon Avenue.
—Kyle Stokes, Axios, 26 Nov. 2024
Ashley R. Williams, CNN, 30 Nov. 2024
Now, with several states already in the process of sending and receiving mail-in ballots, voters might look at the supply chain snarls and immediate price spikes as one more reason not to vote to keep the status quo.
—Max Thornberry, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 3 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for snarl 
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Verb
All travel lanes of Interstate 83 have reopened after a massive wood fire that broke out Thursday evening in Baltimore’s Woodberry neighborhood snarled Friday morning traffic.
—Michelle Deal-Zimmerman, Baltimore Sun, 6 Dec. 2024
Until recently, work for Metro Transit's B Line bus rapid transit project also snarled Uptown traffic on Lake Street and Lagoon Avenue.
—Kyle Stokes, Axios, 26 Nov. 2024
Noun
Michigan, New York and other parts of the Great Lakes region remain on alert as lake-effect snow continues to create near-whiteout conditions, leading to dangerous traffic snarls in some areas since Friday.
—Ashley R. Williams, CNN, 30 Nov. 2024
Now, with several states already in the process of sending and receiving mail-in ballots, voters might look at the supply chain snarls and immediate price spikes as one more reason not to vote to keep the status quo.
—Max Thornberry, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 3 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for snarl
Dictionary Entries Near snarl
Cite this Entry
“Snarl.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/snarl. Accessed 23 Dec. 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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