gnarly
gnarly Lexical Profile
gnarly Game Scores & Validity
• adjective
North American Extremely difficult, dangerous, treacherous, or unpleasant to deal with (informal).
"The mountain bikers had to navigate a gnarly stretch of steep, rocky terrain after the rainstorm."
Having many knots, bumps, or twisted, rough projections, especially as a result of age or weathering (typically of a tree trunk, branch, or person's hands).
"The hikers rested beneath the shade of an ancient oak with thick, gnarly roots."
North American Exceptionally good, exciting, or impressive, especially in an extreme or daring way (slang).
"She landed a gnarly aerial trick on the half-pipe that earned the highest score of the competition."
Word Nuance & Usage
In surfing and skateboarding slang, "gnarly" is a contronym that can mean either dangerously unpleasant and difficult or impressively cool and exciting, depending on the speaker's tone and context.
• Rhymes for gnarly
Word Origin & Etymology
First recorded in the early 19th century as a variant of "gnarled," derived from the noun "gnarl" (a knot in wood); its slang senses emerged among California surfers in the 1970s.