gnarled
/nɑː(ɹ)ld/adjective, verb
gnarled is spelled G-N-A-R-L-E-D: 7 letters and one syllable. It appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 61,481st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, gnarled means “Knotty and misshapen” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in gnarled?
| Letters | 7: G-N-A-R-L-E-D |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 4 million words; the 61,481st most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is gnarled?
Gnarled appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 61,481st most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce gnarled?
- /nɑː(ɹ)ld/
Gnarled has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-gnarled.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with gnarled?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as gnarled.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: dangler.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of gnarled
- more gnarled comparative
- most gnarled superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does gnarled mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Knotty and misshapen.
- 2
Made rough by age or hard work.
verb
- 1
simple past and past participle of gnarl (Etymology 1)
- 2
simple past and past participle of gnarl (Etymology 2)
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Gnarled in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense knotty and misshapen:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does gnarled come from?
First attested Shakespeare 1603: : Thy sharpe and sulpherous bolt Splits the vn-wedgable [unwedgable] and gnarled Oke [oak]. : Measure for Measure, Act II, scene ii, line 116 Variant of knurled, from knurl. By surface analysis, gnarl + -ed, though gnarl is a later back-formation. Popular use by 19th century.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).