as in barking
to speak sharply or irritably
she snarled at me after I kept badgering her with questions
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as in tangling
to twist together into a usually confused mass
you'll be awfully sorry if you snarl your fishing line
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Recent Examples of snarling
Frank Rizzo, Variety, 24 Apr. 2026
From those ashes, Detroit has somehow pivoted, almost overnight, into this season’s snarling, physical bunch that was one of the NBA’s best defensive teams.
—David Aldridge, New York Times, 23 Apr. 2026
The snarling sound of a speedboat broke the spell.
—Literary Hub, 13 Apr. 2026
The Iran war is also snarling shipments of other commodities, like fertilizer, aluminum, and helium.
—Nicholas Gordon, Fortune, 2 Apr. 2026
Law enforcement took a 37-year-old Kuna man into custody Wednesday evening after a 2-mile police chase came to an end near Interstate 84, snarling traffic and forcing road closures, Meridian police said.
—Idaho Statesman, 1 Apr. 2026
Iran has maintained its ability to strike targets in the region and effectively shut down the Strait of Hormuz, snarling the global oil trade.
—Will Weissert, Twin Cities, 25 Mar. 2026
At night, Yusuf goes back to his village, where his family is regularly brutalized by the local authorities, led by the snarling protomillenarian Captain Wingate (played by Robert Aramayo, whom some will recognize as the young actor who scored an upset win at the BAFTAs last month for I Swear).
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 20 Mar. 2026
Activists have long made Maryland a cultural battleground over transit, with pushes for traffic-snarling bike lanes, and doomed infrastructure projects like the Red Line, described by former Governor Larry Hogan as a boondoggle.
—Torrey Snow, Baltimore Sun, 11 Mar. 2026
Verb
The musical — a rock-and-raunch, goth-and-gay parody of cheesy, mid-century horror/sci-fi flicks — was created by Richard O’Brien (book, music, lyrics and who performed as the snarling butler Riff Raff).
—Frank Rizzo, Variety, 24 Apr. 2026
From those ashes, Detroit has somehow pivoted, almost overnight, into this season’s snarling, physical bunch that was one of the NBA’s best defensive teams.
—David Aldridge, New York Times, 23 Apr. 2026
The snarling sound of a speedboat broke the spell.
—Literary Hub, 13 Apr. 2026
The Iran war is also snarling shipments of other commodities, like fertilizer, aluminum, and helium.
—Nicholas Gordon, Fortune, 2 Apr. 2026
Law enforcement took a 37-year-old Kuna man into custody Wednesday evening after a 2-mile police chase came to an end near Interstate 84, snarling traffic and forcing road closures, Meridian police said.
—Idaho Statesman, 1 Apr. 2026
Iran has maintained its ability to strike targets in the region and effectively shut down the Strait of Hormuz, snarling the global oil trade.
—Will Weissert, Twin Cities, 25 Mar. 2026
At night, Yusuf goes back to his village, where his family is regularly brutalized by the local authorities, led by the snarling protomillenarian Captain Wingate (played by Robert Aramayo, whom some will recognize as the young actor who scored an upset win at the BAFTAs last month for I Swear).
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 20 Mar. 2026
Activists have long made Maryland a cultural battleground over transit, with pushes for traffic-snarling bike lanes, and doomed infrastructure projects like the Red Line, described by former Governor Larry Hogan as a boondoggle.
—Torrey Snow, Baltimore Sun, 11 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Snarling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/snarling. Accessed 2 May. 2026.
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