different between ensnarl vs snarl

English

Etymology

en- +? snarl

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -??(r)l

Verb

ensnarl (third-person singular simple present ensnarls, present participle ensnarling, simple past and past participle ensnarled)

1. To entangle; to trap.
   • 1596, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, V.9:

     They in awayt would closely him ensnarle, / Ere to his den he backward could recoyle, / And so would hope him easily to foyle.

Anagrams

• lanners, rannels

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?sn??(?)l/
• Rhymes: -??(r)l

Etymology 1

From Middle English snarlen, frequentative of snaren (“to trap, tangle”). Equivalent to snare +? -le.

Verb

snarl (third-person singular simple present snarls, present participle snarling, simple past and past participle snarled)

1. (transitive) To entangle; to complicate; to involve in knots.

   to snarl a skein of thread
2. (intransitive) To become entangled.
3. (transitive) To place in an embarrassing situation; to ensnare; to make overly complicated.
   • November 9, 1550, Hugh Latimer, Sermon Preached at Stanford

     [the] question that they would have snarled him with

4. (transitive, intransitive) To be congested in traffic, or to make traffic congested.
5. To form raised work upon the outer surface of (thin metal ware) by the repercussion of a snarling iron upon the inner surface.

Derived terms

• ensnarl
• unsnarl

Translations

Noun

snarl (plural snarls)

1. A knot or complication of hair, thread, or the like, difficult to disentangle.

   Synonym: entanglement

2. An intricate complication; a problematic difficulty; a knotty or tangled situation.
3. A slow-moving traffic jam.

Synonyms

• (entangled situation): imbroglio

Translations

Etymology 2

Frequentative of earlier snar (“to growl”), perhaps from Middle Low German snorren (“to drone”), of probably imitative origin. Equivalent to snar +? -le. Related to German schnarren (“to rattle”) and schnurren (“to hum, buzz”).

Verb

snarl (third-person singular simple present snarls, present participle snarling, simple past and past participle snarled)

1. (intransitive) To growl angrily by gnashing or baring the teeth; to gnarl; to utter grumbling sounds.
2. (transitive) To complain angrily; to utter growlingly.
3. (intransitive) To speak crossly; to talk in rude, surly terms.

   • It is malicious and unmanly to snarl at the little lapses of a pen, from which Virgil himself stands not exempted.

Derived terms

• snarling
• snarlingly

Translations

Noun

snarl (plural snarls)

1. The act of snarling; a growl; a surly or peevish expression; an angry contention.
2. A growl, for example that of an angry or surly dog, or similar; grumbling sounds.
3. A squabble.

Derived terms

• snarl word

Translations

Further reading

• snarl in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• snarl in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• snarl at OneLook Dictionary Search
• Douglas Harper (2001–2021) , “snarl”, in Online Etymology Dictionary
• “snarl”, in Merriam–Webster Online Dictionary, (Please provide a date or year).

Anagrams

• larns

Icelandic

Etymology

Back-formation from snarla.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /s(t)nartl/
• Rhymes: -artl

Noun

snarl n (genitive singular snarls, no plural)

1. snack (light meal)

Declension

See also

• snakk