Have you ever wondered about the definition of gnarly? This article will provide you with all of the info you need on the word gnarly, including its definition, etymology, usage, example sentences, and more!
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According to Collins English Dictionary and the American Heritage Unabridged Dictionary of the English language, the word gnarly is an adjective that has a few potential meanings. The adjective gnarly can be used to mean tied up in knots or tangled, gross and covered in knots or knobs like a knobbed stick, as UK and New Zealand slang for good or excellent, or in slang senses like surfers’ slang to mean difficult. Gnarly is two syllables – gnarl-y, and the pronunciation of gnarly is ˈnɑːr-ly.
This term is most commonly associated with US Surf Culture. This US slang has specific usage when it comes to waves on a North Shore or outer islands. Surfers’ slang is also used for other things, like sunblock, sunlight, wigged out dudes, a lame chick, and more. Gnarly is usually used in surfing to refer to a dangerous wave that can cause a daze, i.e. a gnarly wave. This is the most common use.
Many things can be gnarly, like gnarly waves, gnarly old trees with twisting trunks, an old persons gnarly eyebrows, gnarly humor, gnarly girl rockers like the Runaways, a love of gnarly fuzztones, a gnarly guy, a gnarly violent motion, gnarly cottonwood trees, and more.
Many different languages also contain words that mean gnarly. You may notice that some of these translations of gnarly look similar to one another. These are called cognates, which are often formed when two words have the same root or language of origin. This list of translations of gnarly is provided by Word Sense.
Portuguese: legal, da hora (slang), muito louco (slang)
Finnish: siisti
German: super, genial, toll, geil
Swedish: grym, fet
What are synonyms and antonyms of the word gnarly?
There are many different words that a person can choose to use in place of the word gnarly. These are called synonyms, which are words that have the same meaning as the word gnarly. Synonyms are useful words to learn if you are trying not to repeat yourself or if you are trying to expand your English language vocabulary. This list of synonyms of gnarly is provided by Power Thesaurus.
There are also a number of words that have the opposite meaning as gnarly. These opposite words are called antonyms, which are another great tool used to expand your vocabulary. This list of antonyms of gnarly is also provided by Power Thesaurus.
as easy as one-two-three
fat
great
easy as beans
easy as breathing
easy as anything
eellogofusciouhipoppokunurious
as easy as pie
easier than rolling off a log
easy as shelling peas
as easy as beans
extremely easy
easy to do
as safe as houses
safe as houses
just like riding a bicycle
as easy as can be
easy to achieve
safe and sound
easy as shooting fish in a barrel
horrible
as easy as anything
disgusting
just like riding a bike
as easy as falling off a log
easy as one-two-three
as easy as shooting fish in a barrel
can be done with your eyes closed
as easy as winking
easy as rolling off a log
smooth
as easy as abc
highly palatable
shooting fish in a barrel
like falling off a log
bad
can be done with your eyes shut
as easy as taking candy from a baby
easy peasy lemon squeezy
dreadful
appalling
easy as winking
easy as abc
easy peasy japanesey
not good
like shooting fish in a barrel
like riding a bike
easy as can be
easy as pie
straight
How can the word gnarly be used in a sentence?
The word gnarly can be used in many different ways in the English language. This is a great way to learn new words. It is difficult to learn new lingo, but you could also try making a quiz or flashcards to test your knowledge of a vast collection of words. Try using this word of the day in a sentence today! Below are a couple of examples of gnarly to get you started!
The gnarly mold had been growing in the Princeton University dorm since the 1970s and no one had ever fixed it.
The gnarly wave crashed to the right of the station in October. They were lucky it did not collapse.
Overall, the word gnarly means a variety of things. The usage of the internet slang word or teen slang gnarly is most often to mean cool. Try using this word of the day in a sentence today! Since it has numerous different possible meanings, make sure that your context is clear when using this new word in a sentence.
Kevin Miller is a growth marketer with an extensive background in Search Engine Optimization, paid acquisition and email marketing. He is also an online editor and writer based out of Los Angeles, CA. He studied at Georgetown University, worked at Google and became infatuated with English Grammar and for years has been diving into the language, demystifying the do's and don'ts for all who share the same passion! He can be found online here.