gnarly

comparative gnarlier · superlative gnarliest

1. Having or characterized by gnarls; gnarled.

   a gnarly stump

   1 more example

   Out of one window I can see the garden, those mysterious deep-shaded arbors, the riotous old-fashioned flowers, and bushes and gnarly trees.

   1892 January, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, The Yellow Wall Paper, Boston, Mass.: Small, Maynard & Company, published 1901, →OCLC, page 13

   Synonyms: gnarled, knobbly, knobby

2. datedslangExcellent; attractive.

   a gnarly dude

   1 more example

   There ain't nothing gnarlier (apparently) than slapping on some brightly coloured sunblock to ward off the blinding spectre of dangerous, snow-reflected sunlight.

   2000 January 16, Sunday Herald, Glasgow

   Synonyms: awesome

3. USdatedslangDangerous; difficult.

   a gnarly problem

   2 more examples

   When the swell struck, the North Shore got gnarly, and the wise ones hit the outer islands where the energy was just as juicy but a bit more organized.

   1977 March, Surfer

   Work that makes you unhappy is what I mean by "a gnarly problem." The trouble is, the market pays for solutions to gnarly problems, not solutions to easy problems. As the Yorkshire lads say, "Where there's muck, there's brass."

   2008, [Avram] Joel Spolsky, More Joel on Software: Further Thoughts on Diverse and Occasionally Related Matters that will Prove of Interest to Software Developers, Designers, and Managers, and to Those who, whether by Good Fortune or Ill Luck, Work with Them in Some Capacity, Berkeley, Calif.: Apress, →ISBN, page 152

4. USslangUnpleasant, awful, ugly.

   We're not talking about a lame chick and a gnarly guy. We're talking about a couple of far-out dudes.

   1981, Dan Jenkins, Baja Oklahoma, New York, N.Y.: Atheneum Books, ISBN 978-0-689-11173-0; reprinted New York, N.Y.: Pocket Books, 1982, ISBN 978-0-671-45163-9, page 269

   1 more example

   Funky Kong: 'Those Snowmads are a gnarly bunch! I hear they're enjoyin' your island. Go get 'em, DK!'

   2014 February, Retro Studios, Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, Nintendo, level/area: Funky's Fly 'n' Buy

   1. USslangOf music or a sound: harsh.

      Near-synonyms: cacophonic, discordant, jarring

      1 more example

      [She] displays the same love of gnarly fuzztones and shout-it-out-loud choruses that began back in her daze^([sic]) with local all-girl rockers the Runaways.

      1986 October 12, Los Angeles Times

      Synonyms: cacophonic, discordant, jarring, discordant