gnarly
UK /ˈnɑːli/ · US /ˈnɑɹli/ adjective
Forms gnarlier gnarliest
- adjective Having or characterized by gnarls; gnarled. “a gnarly stump”
- adjective (slang, dated) Excellent; attractive. “a gnarly dude”
- adjective (slang, US, dated) Dangerous; difficult. “a gnarly problem”
- adjective (slang, US) Unpleasant, awful, ugly.
- adjective (slang, US) Of music or a sound: harsh.
Synonyms
gnarled knobbly knobby awesome cacophonic discordant jarring cool rad wicked dreadful nasty awful knotted knotty knobbed
Etymology
From gnarl (“knot in wood”) + -y. The slang senses were particularly popularized by US surf culture in the 1970s.
Webster’s 1913
- adjective Full of knots; knotty; twisted; crossgrained.
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “gnarly”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details